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Tales of Foreign Lands. 


A Series of Stories for the Young. 

COrivKCTED BY 


REV. JOSEPH SPILLMANN, S. J. 


Yol. V. 

The Queen’s Nephew. 


ST. LOUIS, MO. 1896. 
Published by B. HERDER, 
17 South Broadway. 


THE 


Queens Nephew, 

An Historical Narration from the 
Early Japanese Mission. 

BY 

Rev. Joseph Spillmann, S. J. 

w 


Translated from the German 

BY 

Miss Helena Long. 






ST. TOUIS, MO. 1896. - 
Published by B. HERDER, 
17 South Broadway. 



Copyright 1896, by Jos. Gummersbacli. 



— BECKTOLD — 
PRINTING AND BOOK A\FG. CO. 
ST. LOUIS, A\0. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction - - - . - 

Pap:e 

7 

I. 

The Blind Man and his Leader 

10 

II. 

A Heathen Prince and a Chris- 



tian Prince . - - . 

18 

III. 

The Prince and the Page 

27 

lY. 

The Nephew and the Aunt 

39 

V. 

Nature and Grrace 

51 

VI. 

The Page Stephen - - - 

61 

VII. 

The Hunt _ - - - 

74 

VIII. 

Prince Sebastian _ - _ 

85 

IX. 

The Crisis - - - - 

97 

X. 

Two Festivals - - - - 

110 

XI. 

Trials 

122 

XII. 

The Victory - - - - 

135 


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The Queen’s Nephew. 


An Historical Narration from the Early 
Japanese Mission. 


^HE most southernly of the four great 
Japanese islands is now called Kin-sin; 
but, at the time when St. Francis Xavier and 
his fellow laborers entered the far off insular 
kingdom of the rising sun^ it was called 
Chimo or Skimo. In size it is very nearly 
equal to Switzerland and contains at the 
present time nearly five millions of inhabi- 
tants.. How many people lived in the second 
half of the sixteenth century in the blissful 
regions of this glorious island when the 
events which we are about to relate took 
place, can no longer be ascertained with 
certitude. This much only is known from 
the reports of the venerable missionaries 
that, at that period as at present, the land 
was well cultivated, and that, hamlets, 

( 7 ) 


8 The Queen^s Nephew. 

villages, larger and smaller towns succeeded 
each other in one almost uninterrupted line, 
as is the case in the thickly populated parts 
of our own country. 

Among the seven principahties into which 
Chimo was divided, the territory of Bungo, 
as much on account of its size as of its 
riches, held a prominent rank. And its 
ruler or king — the missionaries justly gave 
these almost independent vassals of the 
Emperor of Japan that name — had by force 
of arms brought the greater part of the 
neighboring provinces under subjection, so 
that his kingdom comprised very nearly the 
whole eastern half of Chimo. This powerful 
prince was no other than that Siwan who 
invited St. Francis Xavier to come to his 
capital city of Funai, and in whose presence 
that celebrated religious conference* took 
place in the year 1551, in which the Apostle 
of Japan brilliantly defended the doctrine 
of Christ against the attacks of the Bonzes. 
The young king, at that time, solemnly 
acknowledged the saint ^s victory and en- 
couraged his doctrine to the great annoy- 
ance of the Bonzes who called down the 
vengeance of their gods upon the king. 


9 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

But, in spite of the affecting exhortations 
of the saint, the king could not resolve to 
accept the Christian faith. He feared the 
loss of his earthly kingdom and could not 
submit to bend his neck beneath the restric- 
tions of the pure moral teaching of Christ. 
Nevertheless, he promised the apostle when 
the latter left Japan on the 20th of Nov. 1551, 
that he would protect the missionaries and 
their neophytes. 

A quarter of a century had passed since 
then. Siwan had kept his promise to pro- 
tect the Christians, whose number increased 
every year, but he himself remained a 
heathen. An event then occurred which 
led to a powerful struggle at the court of 
Bungo and, finally to a victory of grace 
over the heart of the aged king. We will 
relate the same a little more in detail than 
it appears in the ancient reports. 


I. 

The Blind Man and his Leader. 

King Siwan had chosen for his favorite 
residence the agreeably situated palace of 
Usnki, built on a high hill which gently 
sloped towards a river a few miles south of 
Funai. He could scarcely have found a 
more lovely spot in all his charming territory, 
rich as it is in picturesque scenery. From 
the windows of the palace, and from the 
terraces in the gardens which surrounded 
it, the spectator had a most exquisite view. 
Usuki is bound on the south, west and north 
by the beautiful soaring range of mountains 
which stretch across the island of Kin-sin. 
The proud peak of Asojama in the south- 
west, in particular, is an object of attraction. 
It rises to the height of over 4500 feet and 
its summit is frequently hidden in dark 
clouds, and then again it is seen shining in 
the beautiful sunlight, clothed in azure blue. 
Dark thickets of fir surrounded by grey 
rocky walls cover the sides of the ridge of 

hills which gently undulate towards the 
( 10 ) 


11 


The Qtieen^s Nephew, 

coast. It is a picturesque panorama full of 
change and life. Between wood and forest 
lie large tracks of well cultivated land; in 
the valleys, little streams and brooklets 
ghsten in the sun, as also, here and there, 
artificial lakes which serve for the over- 
flowing of the rice fields. Amidst orchards 
and gardens are to be seen dispersed at 
short distances from each other, farmhouses 
with thatched roofs. At the foot of the 
hill on which the king^s palace was situated, 
a new city with broad streets and spacious 
squares extending along the sea coast, had 
been built within the last few years. But 
beautiful as was the view from the hill on 
which stood the castle, it was far surpassed 
by the enchanting picture which presented 
itself to the eye looking towards the near- 
lying sea on the east. The glorious Bay of 
Usuki like a dark blue mirror was bordered 
north and south by far stretching promon- 
tories whose rocky walls formed secure break 
waters against the waves of the open sea. 
Numerous larger and smaller reefs and 
islands, the greater part of which were 
covered with beautiful green woods and 
thickets, rose up out of the waves. And in 


12 The Queen'^s Nephew. 

the distant horizon is seen in clear weather 
the blue mountains of the opposite lying 
island of Sikoku separated from Kin-sin by 
the Straits of Bungo which at this spot are 
30 miles broad. 

On the bright day in March in the year 
1576, on which our story begins, hundreds 
of boats and junks were gliding gently over 
the waves in the bay. A dense crowd of 
people was standing on the shore looking 
on at the embarcation of the troops. The 
sun glittered on the curved scimitar-like 
iron spears of the soldiers and reflected on 
the fantastically shaped helmets of the 
officers. Sharp words of command were 
heard, swords clanked against the bright 
shining metal of their coats-of-mail, when a 
fresh troop of sword-armed warriors sprang 
into the gently rocking boats, which amid 
the cry of the boatmen : ‘ ^Midsu-no-Kami ! ^ ^ 
^^Midsu-no-Kami! ’’ (Grod of the waters!) 
quitted the shore. 

Somewhat apart from the crowd of spec- 
tators, under the shade of an old, knotted 
cypress, which spread its dark green 
branches over the enclosure of the royal 
gardens, sat a meanly dressed elderly man. 


13 


The Qaeen'^s Nephew. 

The spot on which he was seated commanded 
a fine view of the crowd of people, and of 
the vessels in the bay, as well as of the road 
which led from the shore to the nearest 
palace gate. It is true, the old man did 
not profit much from the view for he was 
bhnd ; but the boy who served as a guide 
to him, looked with bright eyes on the 
scene, full of fife and color which was being 
enacted there. When the boatmen with 
loud cries invoked the protection of the god 
of the sea, he said to the blind man : 

^^Do you hear that. Uncle? they are 
calling upon Midsu-no-Kami. How can 
they dare to do that when their king was 
baptized only yesterday!^’ 

^Ht is true, the King of Tosa became a 
Christian yesterday, answered the blind 
man, ^^and I hope he will do honor to his 
name of Paul. But nevertheless his subjects 
are still heathens, and it would be difficult 
for him to compel them to renounce their 
gods. Besides, the soldiers are not even 
his subjects; they are the soldiers of our 
king Siwan, who only lends them to his 
brother-in-law that he may with their help 
recover his kingdom from which the treach- 


14 


The Queen’’ s 'Ne'phew, 

eroiis Josagami expelled him. You must 
pray, Francis, that God may restore the 
throne to this prince who is the first that 
has openly acknowledged the true faith ; it 
would be a great victory for the doctrine of 
Christ.’^ 

will certainly pray for that. Uncle, but 
I will pray still more earnestly that our king, 
who knows the truth of our faith so well, 
and who has long seen through the deceits 
of the Bonzes, may at length become a 
Christian. He permitted his son, our good 
Prince Sebastian, openly to receive baptism *, 
he places his soldiers at the service of his 
Christian brother-in-law, the expelled King 
of Tosa*, he is kind to Fr. Cabral and the 
other priests — what keeps him back then 
from becoming a Christian himself 

^^Do not forget, my son, that faith is a 
gift of God, and I fear Siwan has forfeited 
that grace for ever,^^ said the blind man, 
and his countenance became deeply earnest. 

stood by when the great messenger of 
God, after his victory over the Bonzes, 
exhorted the young king to obey the voice 
of grace which, at that time, must have 
spoken powerfully to his soul. Do you not 


15 


The Queen’s NepJieiv. 

know that the Savior, weeping over the city 
of Jerusalem said : thou also hadst known, 
and that in this thy day, the things that 
are to thy peace, but now they are hidden 
from thy eyes J Jerusalem let the day of 
grace pass without profiting by it and was 
destroyed. I greatly fear it will be the same 
with Siwan. Only one thing permits me to 
hope, that is, he has faithfully kept the 
promise which he gave the saint on his 
departure from the island, for, during the 
twentyfive years which have elapsed since 
then, he has always afforded us his protec- 
tion.^’ 

^ ^ And he is always kind to the missionaries 
and has built them a house, and given them 
a beautiful garden and permitted us to build 
the little chapel,” said Francis. always 
think he would have become a Christian 
long ago if it had not been for his wicked 
queen.” 

^ ^Francis ! ” said the blind man in a tone 
of reproof. 

^^Is she not wicked then?” said the boy. 
^^Does she not hate the Christians? Would 
she not banish us all, or even burn us to 
death, the good fathers and the little church 


16 The Queen’’ s Nephew. 

included, if she could? Don^t be angry, 
Uncle, but since Fr. Monti told us the 
history of Jezabel, we boys never call her 
anything else but the wicked Jezabel. I am 
afraid she will imbue the noble Sikatora with 
her hatred for us, for he went by yesterday 
quite proudly, whereas he always saluted 
us kindly before. But hark, how the gongs 
and fifes from the great ships sound over 
here! Now they are hoisting a great flag to 
the main mast ; it is light blue and there is 
something written on it in gigantic letters 
— stay, I can read it: ^Edsin-Sossin’ (Grodof 
the waters) — the idiots! And now they are 
dravdng up a white flag; on that there is, 
^Taira-ha^ (peace.) Why do they do that 
when they are just going off to battle? 

^^They hope by that to obtain a calm 
passage from the water-god, said his aged 
companion. ^^They will now dress an altar 
with green bamboo bushes on the main 
mast of the admiraPs ship and place on it 
as the sacrificial offering, bread and fish, 
rice and saki (rice brandy. ) They will most 
likely urge the king to take part in this 
sacrifice, but he will be obliged to keep the 


The Qiieen'^s Nephew. 17 

promises which he made to Grod in holy 
baptism yesterday. ^ ^ 

^^They are coming, they are coming!^’ 
cried the boy, ^^they are just coming out of 
the gate. How their armor glistens in the 
sunshine ! There is King Paul coming along 
with our king ; Prince Sebastian is following 
behind them with the queen^s nephew. Now 
King Paul is turning towards us. A cross, 
a gold cross is glittering on his helmet. — 
0 Uncle, I wish you could see it! — They are 
approaching, kneel down, the two-swords 
men and all the people kneel down when 
they pass by.^’ 


II. 


A Heathen Prince and a Christian 
Prince. 

The king’s procession was, in fact, drawing 
near with great pomp. Two officers of the 
court, who carried, as a token of their dignity, 
long gilt-headed canes, walked in front of 
the procession. The crowd made way for 
them in the broad street and threw them- 
selves down reverently on their hands and 
knees, according to the custom of the 
country, whilst the principal personages, at 
least remained standing and bowing low. 
Behind these court officials some attendants 
bore two by two, on high poles, gourd shaped 
lanterns and gilt fans. The court musicians 
followed next, and with their curiously 
shaped gongs, large and small tamtams, 
cymbals and triangles, bugle horns and 
reed pipes, made a wild, intermitting and 
pecuhar kind of music . After the musicians , 
came again fan bearers, lance bearers and 
archers, followed by groups of the lower 
nobUity; called sword nobles, on account 
(18) 


19 


The Queen’s Nephew/ 

of the two swords which they constantly 
carry in their belts. Then came the court 
nobihty in rich silk garments with the broad, 
stiff shoulder knot; next, heavily armed 
chieftains whose helmet viziers looked like 
hideous masks, and lastly, the group of 
princely personages followed by a troop of 
body guards. When the procession reached 
the shore, only the two kings, with the 
princes Sebastian and Sikatora stepped into 
the boat, ornamented with many-colored 
banners, in which they were to be conveyed 
on board the admiraPs ship. This vessel was 
one of those clumsy junks whose richly 
decorated bow and stern stand high up out 
of the water, whilst the deck is occupied 
almost wholly by an elegant pavilion. Flags 
and banners ornament the corners of the 
same and at the base of the mast was, exactly 
as his young guide had described to the 
blind man, an altar set up to the god of the 
sea, around which the higher officers had 
formed a circle in the centre of which stood 
King Si wan with his retinue. 

Siwan was, for a Japanese, a tall, well 
built man with a measured and dignified 
demeanor. The thin, slightly grey musta- 


20 The Qiieen^s Nephew, 

chio and the rather whitened hair, which 
could be seen from under the high mitre- 
looking head-dress, betrayed that he had 
already passed the prime of life; but the 
fire in his shrewd eyes, the firm expression 
of his mouth, and his erect figure, betokened 
his still unimpaired vigor. He cast a scru- 
tinizing glance on his brother-in-law, and, 
when he perceived his displeasure at the 
sight of the idolatrous altar, a scornful 
smile played around his lips. — Then he 
said in a loud voice: ^^My brother of Tosa, 
as you perceive, you have not come in vain 
to our court for help. For the sake of your 
wife, my sister, and for your own sake, I 
have equipped these vessels and assembled 
these warriors that you may with their help 
reconquer your kingdom and throne from 
which the perfidious Josogami basely ex- 
pelled you. Hearken, all my warriors! my 
princely brother of Tosa is from this time 
forth your leader, I command you to recover 
for him the kingdom of his ancestors. May 
Dsin-Mu, our great warrior and forefather, 
Hat-su-man, the mighty god of battles, and 
all the gods and spirits be with your 
banners! 


21 


The Quecn^s Nephew. 

The warriors, shouting loudly and brand- 
ishing their weapons, joined heartily in the 
wishes of their king. 

Siwan then said: ^^Let us now, according 
to the custom of our forefathers, offer up 
sacrifice to the god of the sea before weighing 
anchor.’^ 

At a signal from the king two closely 
shaven Bonzes came forward and offered 
on their knees to the two princes a large 
highly varnished tray, on which were placed 
elegant little porcelain dishes containing the 
sacrificial gifts — bread and fish, rice and 
saki . — Siwan took them and placed them 
before the statue. But the Prince of Tosa 
said, with a warding-off movernent of his 
hand. ^^Eat and drink the same yourself, 
my good man, your gods will never be able 
to eat it.^^ Then he turned towards Siwan 
and said: ^^You might have spared me this, 
brother, you know well that I am a Christian, 
and that I have solemnly renounced all belief 
in, and worship of false gods.’’ 

Loud murmurs arose, and the Bonzes 
said, scanning the prince with venomous 
looks: Thy kingdom will not last! Even 


22 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

as thou hast forsaken our gods, so will thy 
people forsake thee.^’ 

Silence/^ commanded Siwan. ^‘Brother, 
you may think what you like of Midsu-no- 
Kami and the other gods, hut remember 
prudence counsels you not to express openly 
your contempt for the ancient customs. If 
you will not offer the sacrificial gifts in your 
own name, at least let them offer it in the 
name of your warriors who do believe in 
the power of our gods.’^ 

dare not, even if I never recover an 
inch of the kingdom of my forefathers,^’ 
answered the Christian prince firmly. 

^^The heavenly crown will all the more 
surely be your eternal reward Paul,” said 
Prince Sebastian, who had followed the 
scene in great suspense; and he seized the 
hand of the Prince of Tosa with these words : 

thank you for the beautiful example of 
Christian steadfastness which you have just 
afforded me. I also will gladly renounce 
the earthly crown to gain the heavenly one. 
Father,” he continued, turning towards 
Siwan, ^det it end thus. You have yourself 
offered the sacrifice and let your warriors 
be content with that.” 


23 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

^^But we are not content/’ cried the 
Bonzes. ^^Our gods hate this foreign Grod, 
who would bring our beautiful island-home 
piece by piece into the power of the cunning 
strangers who teach his new law. Every 
true Japanese who loves his country, curses 
him and his followers, and remains faithful 
to the ancient gods, who up to the present 
have saved our beautiful island of Japan 
from every danger. Prince of Tosa, do not 
expect us to be faithful to you, if you break 
faith with the gods ! For the last time I call 
upon you to follow the custom of your 
ancestors! ” 

am ready and willing to draw my 
sword against every enemy for the greatness 
and freedom of Japan, and to shed my blood 
for the prosperity and freedom of my coun- 
try,” answered the prince, ^^but, Japan will 
only be really great and happy when it is 
delivered from the tissue of falsehoods in 
which you and your followers ensnare its 
inhabitants, and when the light of truth 
and grace shines upon it which alone can 
bring true peace and happiness.” 

^ ^Enough and more than enough of this 
conversation,” said Siwan, interrupting the 


24 The Queen’s Nephew. 

zealous neophyte. I did not know 

that you were a true Japanese in spite of 
your behef in the new Grod whom the white 
men from the west preach, I should certainly 
not have placed my brave warriors at your 
disposal. But I gave you credit for more 
prudence than to have drawn upon your- 
self, for the sake of this mere ceremony, the 
displeasure of these pious men and brave 
soldiers, especially at the very beginning of 
your enterprise. Nevertheless, at my word 
and for my sake, they will fight as true 
vassals for your rights. — But you must 
keep your promise not to force the new 
rehgion on your subjects. Let each one, 
according to his conviction call upon Kami, 
or adore Buddha, or become a Christian, as 
I permit in my kingdom! But, on the day 
when I learn that you have destroyed a 
temple or a Bonze cloister, I will claim the 
kingdom of Tosa which my warriors have 
won back for you, and reward my wife’s 
nephew, the noble Sikatora with it. And, 
now, Sikatora, my brave lad, place the 
offering on the altar! ” 

The prince whom he addressed, and on 
whom all eyes now turned, came forward. 


25 


The Queeyi^s Nephew, 

He was a slim noble looking youth. One 
could not look upon his cheerful counte- 
nance with its open, true hearted expression 
without being drawn towards him. Bowing 
low, he said: ^^You have always been good 
to me, 0 king, and treated me as your 
nephew ever since Sikatondono adopted me 
as his child. But the favor which you hold 
out to me now, will never be mine. The 
kingdom of Tosa belongs to its hereditary 
prince, even although he has become a 
Christian. — As regards the sacrifice which 
I am to offer to the god of the sea, I must 
confess that much which I have heard and 
seen at your court has shaken my faith in 
our gods. But I do not as yet see clearly. 
If, later on, I should be convinced that the 
religion of the strangers is the true one, I 
should act as these two princes, your younger 
son and your brother-in-law have done. 
Till then I will follow your example, 0 king, 
and am ready therefore to offer the pre- 
scribed gifts according to custom to Midsu- 
no-Kami.^^ 

Sikatora said these words with such 
modesty and yet firmness, that every one 
looked at him in amazement. Siwan was 


26 The Queen* s Nephew. 

pleased with the mental endowment which 
shone out of the boy’s whole demeanor and 
secretly resolved to use them for the attain- 
ment of his far-reaching pohtical plans. 
Scarcely had the youth placed his gifts 
upon the altar when the king took a some- 
what cold farewell of the Prince of Tosa, 
and, accompanied by his son and Sikatora, 
left the admiral’s ship and returned to his 
palace. The anchor was weighed, the sails 
unfurled, and the fleet of the Christian 
prince and his heathen warriors steered 
slowly out of the beautiful Bay of Usuki 
towards the opposite shore of Tosa. 


III. 

The Prince and the Page. 

The sails of the fleet had gradually dis- 
appeared from the view of Sikatora who 
had watched them for a long time from a 
hill in the royal park, when, giving one 
more glance at the calm sea and the glorious 
landscape, he started to return to the palace. 
Deep in thought over the scene which he 
had witnessed on hoard the admiraPs ship, 
the prince walked on through the carefully 
kept paths of the park bordered by lovely 
camelha bushes (of which Japan is the native 
soil) when one of the queen’s pages came 
up to him. 

^Trince, they are seeking you,” said the 
boy bowing profoundly. ^^My mistress, the 
queen, is asking for you. She is in the 
new Kiosk on the Ossidori ponds with the 
princesses. 

Conduct me to her,” said Sikatora, ^^for 
I still have a difficulty in flnding my way 
in the intricacies of these large gardens. 
The Ossidori pond lies in the hollow on the 

( 27 ) 


28 


The Queen^s Nepheiv. 

other side of the castle hill not far from 
the grove of the Bonzes. It must be haK 
an hour^s walk from here is it notT^ 

will take you there in half that time, 
for I know the park well. It is spacious 
and beautiful as befits a powerful monarch. ^ ^ 
At a sign from Sikatora the boy, who 
was only a very little younger than his 
companion, went on in silence and soon 
turned into a side path which led through 
the dark shadows of a little cypress grove 
to a ravine in which, a noisy rivulet rushed 
over mossgrown rocks. Sikatora enjoyed 
the picturesque scenery; for the Japanese 
have, as a rule, great taste for beautiful 
landscapes, and even endeavor to imitate 
in their gardens, hill and vale, rock and 
grotto, wood and river. He had not seen 
this part of the park before, and he made up 
his mind he would often visit the ravine with 
its grand old trees in future. A quieter 
little spot amidst thickets of ferns on the 
borders of the brook, could not easily be 
imagined, and he found its peaceful situation 
all the more agreeable that it was so near 
to the palace and the exciting turmoil of a 
court life. 


29 


The Queen'^s Nephew. 

^‘The ravine seems as if it were made on 
purpose for a hermitage/^ remarked Sika- 
tora to his companion. 

^^It tvas that for a long time/^ rephed 
the page. ^^Do you see the small hut up 
yonder in the branches of that gigantic old 
yew tree? Up to a year ago, old Jevas hved 
there. He let down a rope every day and a 
disciple of the Bonzes fastened a dish con- 
taining rice to it — that was the only food 
of this wonderful penitent. It is said he 
never left the tree for a great number of 
years, in consequence of a vow which he 
had made to Kwannon whom the Buddhist 
teachers adore as lord of the atmosphere. 
From his elevated post, he could see over 
the tree tops and over the rocks, the httle 
temple of his gods which we are now 
approaching.^^ 

One could indeed see on a wooden plat- 
form which was supported by two strong 
horizontal boughs of the tree, half hidden 
by the dark green branches of the yew, a 
small hut made of bamboo which was not 
suitable as a dwelling place for a man, but 
still might be useful as a somewhat protected 
place of rest. Sikatora looked up at the 


30 The Queen^s Nephew, 

wonderful cloister and shook his head and 
asked his guide if it was still inhabited. 

^^No/^ answered the page. ^^Old Jevas 
was the last of the Buddhist hermits who 
lived in the branches of the tree. Since his 
death, the Bonzes, who formerly related 
the fable that a god had planted the yew, 
now say it is accursed because the old peni- 
tent died a Christian.^’ 

Christian!’’ exclaimed the prince in 
amazement. ^^Are you also a Christian?” 
he asked the page 

am. Prince; my deceased parents were 
Christians and so I was baptized a Christian 
in my infancy, and received in baptism the 
beautiful name of Stephen, which means, 
a crown.” 

Strange that this foreign faith should 
take so powerfully here! Well, I am not so 
much surprised about you as I am about 
the old penitent. How was such a thing 
possible after he had spent his whole life in 
the service of Buddha?” 

^^Grod’s grace and mercy are infinite. 
Perhaps his severe penance, which he prob- 
ably practised in good faith, gained for him 
the knowledge of the truth. He who humbly 


31 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

and honestly seeks the truth will surely find 
it our priests tell us, for Grod would rather 
send an angel from Heaven to instruct him 
than let him perish. The story of his con- 
version is very singular. There is an old 
blind man living here of the name of Tobias, 
who was formerly a highly renowned teacher 
in a convent of the Bonzes in Funai. — 

think I know him. Has he not for 
his guide a pretty looking boy whom he 
calls by the foreign name of Francis! 

^^Yes, that is his nephew, and he bears 
the name of Francis out of veneration for 
the great Messenger of the Faith, who 
twentyfive years ago first brought the doc- 
trine of Jesus Christ to our island of Japan. 
Tobias attended at that time, the great 
conference which Francis Xavier held for 
five days with the most learned Bonzes 
before our King Siwan, in which he so 
victoriously defended the truths of the 
Christian religion. Tobias took an active 
part in that dispute, opposing the saintly 
stranger with the most difficult objections 
against Christianity of which he afterwards 
confessed that it was not he himself who 
found them, but that they were suggested 


32 The Queen^s Nephew, 

to him by the evil spirits. But Tobias was 
so honorable, that he admitted the victory 
of the foreigner and so ready to follow the 
call of grace, that he asked for baptism and 
received that sacrament from the hands of 
Francis Xavier. From that time the Bonzes 
hated and persecuted Tobias and more than 
once even attempted his life; but Grod^s 
angel frustrated their evil designs ; for he 
lives here still and helps the foreign teachers 
to instruct those who desire to become 
Christians. He has already prepared several 
hundreds for baptism, and he is particularly 
well fitted for that duty since none know so 
well as he the lies and subterfuges of the 
Bonzes. — ’’ 

^^Boy, I am not a Christian,’’ said Sika- 
tora, interrupting him somewhat angrily. 

^^But you soon will be one,” answered 
the page, glancing confidingly at the young 
prince. ^^For, you are seeking the truth 
and we are praying for you. — So the Bonzes 
hate the blind Tobias, and last year again, 
as they have often done before, they sum- 
moned him to a disputation on the faith, 
and in order that old Jevas on his yew tree 
might witness and take part in it, the 


33 


The Queeri^s Nephew, 

assembly took place in the ravine. But the 
Bonzes were resolved not to fight merely 
with words this time. By their witchcraft 
they had invoked the aid of the evil spirits 
who formerly haunted this hollow, and they 
intended to give over to them for cruel 
punishment the hated perjurer, as they 
called Tobias since he had ceased to belong 
to them. Tobias had a presentiment of 
their evil intention, but he would not allow 
himself to be frightened. Taking the hand 
of little Francis, he bravely entered the 
arena. There on that moss grown boulder he 
took his seat. The Bonzes closed round him 
in a circle and several persons belonging to 
the royal household crowded in between the 
trees, by the side of the stream and on the 
rocks. Up on the platform in front of his 
hut sat the grey haired Jevas, stroking his 
long white beard ; behind him, almost hidden 
by the dark branches of the yew, two of the 
most notorious of the sorcerers had placed 
themselves ready to test their diabohcal arts 
on the bhnd man. 

The conference began and ended in the 
usual way. Tobias refuted the objections 
of his adversaries so strikingly, brought to 


34 The Queen^s Nephew, 

light so unmercifully the inconsistency of 
their teachings — pardon me, Prince, you 
will soon see that for yourself — and spoke 
so convincingly of the truths of the Christian 
rehgion, that loud murmurs arose amongst 
the audience against the Bonzes, who, in- 
stead of reasoning, only answered the blind 
man by abuse. Then the chief Bonze rose 
and summoned old Jevas, with a fearful 
imprecation, to give over this bold blas- 
phemer of the gods to the fury of Kwannon 
whose faithful follower he had been for so 
many years. But the old man did not 
stand up to curse Tobias ; he had heard the 
Christian rehgion proclaimed for the first 
time and his heart was deeply moved though 
he was not yet converted. A miracle was 
to bring him to a decision . The two sorcerers 
had begun their incantations ; threatening 
voices resounded, and the branches of the 
yew shook as in a violent storm. The 
terrified spectators feared that the threats 
of the Bonzes were about to be verified 
against the bhnd man. Little Francis 
trembled and said: ^Uncle, let us fiee!’ 
But Tobias answered calmly: ^They have 
no power to harm us ! Make the sign of the 


35 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

cross and pronounce the name of Jesus. ^ 
More and more dismally sounded meanwhile 
the bowlings from the top of the tree, 
which the witnesses of this frightful scene 
attributed to demons ; several persons even 
affirmed that they had seen with their 
bodily eyes, hideous forms which rushed at 
the blind man and encircled him. But 
Tobias stood undismayed in the midst of the 
awful noises, with his sightless eyes uplifted 
towards Heaven. He signed himself with 
the holy cross and pronounced the name of 
J esus solemnly. And behold ! the infernal 
powers at once receded from him and threw 
themselves upon those, who had invoked 
their aid against the Christian. They drove 
the two sorcerers down from the tree and 
chased them through the throng of specta- 
tors, who cried aloud from fear, to the feet 
of Tobias, where they fell down with their 
features all distorted, and writhing in agony, 
they implored him to have mercy on them 
and to deliver them from the evil spirits 
who were tormenting them so frightfully. 
Tobias made the sign of the cross over the 
two villains, who really deserved a longer 


36 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

punishment, and immediately they were 
able to rise from the ground. 

You can imagine, Prince, what an im- 
pression this scene made on all who witnessed 
it. Many of them renounced the false gods 
soon after and were converted to the Chris- 
tian religion, whose holy sign had gained 
such a signal triumph over the powers of 
darkness. Amongst the converts was the 
venerable Jevas, who, at once descended 
from his tree and besought the blind Tobias 
to instruct him in the religion of Christ. 
Only the Bonzes, who had maliciously fought 
against the known truth, remained obdurate ; . 
they declared the whole event was a delusion 
which was to be ascribed to the Satanic 
arts of the bhnd man, and, as Jevas soon 
after died suddenly on the day of his baptism, 
they said it was an obvious punishment 
from the offended gods, and they persisted 
all the more obstinately in their wickedness. ^ ’ 
Sikatora listened with the greatest atten- 
tion to this narration of his companion. As 
we see clearly from the letters of St. Francis 
Xavier and from the reports of his successors, 
from which source the above facts have 
been taken, persons possessed of the devil, 


37 


The Qiteen^s Nephew, 

of which we read so many examples in the 
Grospels, were, at that time, by no means 
uncommon in Japan. Sikatora himself may 
have known such unhappy creatures, in 
whom was clearly visible the terrible slavery 
of the devil from which Jesus Christ dehv- 
ered us. He may also have heard of the 
Christian teachers’ extraordinary power over 
this fearful affliction. But here, he had for 
the first time a case of which he could him- 
self examine the truth. He questioned the 
boy further on the subject and the latter 
named several men of rank belonging to 
the court as eye-witnesses of the miraculous 
occurrence, and the prince determined to 
find out whether it was true or not. 

During this conversation the two youths, 
following the course of the stream, had 
arrived at the temple of the god Kwannon, 
and the prince cast a look upon the grotesque 
figure in which he, for the first time, betrayed 
a certain amount of contempt for it. 

^^Look at that hateful caricature!* said 
the page, crossing himself. Those goggle 
eyes! that paunch! and that ridiculous 
number of arms, which make him look like 


38 


The Queen’s Nephew, 

the spokes of a wheel, and in every one of 
them he holds another little god! 

^^The thirtysix arms of Kwannon repre- 
sent the thirtysix directions of the compass, 
which belong to him as the ruler of the 
atmosphere,’’ said Sikatora. will not 
allow you to jeer at these images, which 
our ancestors adored, and of which you do 
not even understand the meaning. Besides 
you Christians also have images in your 
Pagoda, for I saw them myself some time 
ago.” 

^^Yes, but we do not adore them; and 
then you must admit they are far more 
beautiful that these dev — . O prince, I do 
not wish to make you angry ! Only let me 
ask of you one thing. Did you not see in 
our chapel the picture of a most beautiful 
woman, with a lovely child in her arms ? — 
That is the Queen of Heaven and her name 
is Mary. We salute her as the Seat of 
Wisdom. Say every day from the bottom 
of your heart: ^Mary, help me to find 
wisdom ! ’ For I know you are seeking the 
truth.” 


IV. 

The Nephew and the Aunt. 

The way now led through a beautiful 
green valley, past shrubberies and well laid- 
out flower beds, to the pond on which a 
number of gorgeous-feathered mandarin 
ducks were swimming. These handsomest 
of all swimming birds with their long tufts 
of white, purple and green feathers falling 
over their brownish orange colored backs, 
are natives of China and Japan, and are 
even there only found in the ponds of the 
rich nobles, for which reason they are called 
by Europeans, mandarin ducks; the Japa- 
nese call them Ossidori. 

^^Here we are now at the Ossidori pond,^’ 
said the page. ^^On yonder island you see 
the roof of the summer house where the 
queen is awaiting you. Listen! The prin- 
cesses are singing, to the accompaniment 
of string instruments, one of those never- 
ending old songs with the innumerable 
names of gods. Shall I announce you, 
Prince. 


( 39 ) 


40 


The Queen^s Nejyliew. 

is unnecessary. You may wait here 
on the bridge and conduct me to the palace 
later on.’’ So saying, Sikatora passed on 
to the elegant little bridge which, in a slight 
arch, spanned the pond. When the ossi- 
dori caught sight of him they spread out 
their steel blue wings and skimming over 
the calm surface of the water, fluttered quite 
near the edge, for they knew the youth 
would throw them some little delicacy. He 
hastily threw them a few crumbs and passed 
over the bridge to the queen’s summer- 
house. 

This summer-house was a spacious Kiosk 
open on all sides ; the richly gilded pillars 
supported a light roof on elegant carved 
beams. Trellis work made of bamboo took 
the place of side walls, and moveable silk 
screens richly embroidered afforded protec- 
tion from the sun and from draught, and 
also from all inquisitive glances. As soon 
as Sikatora appeared on the steps which 
led from the grass plot to the Euosk, 
the singing, at a signal from the queen, 
ceased and the three princesses rose to salute 
their cousin, the favorite of the whole court. 


41 


The Queen^s Nepheiv. 

^^What a pity I have interrupted your 
singing/^ said he politely. ^^It was, if I 
mistake not, in praise of the wisdom and 
justice of Sinkawogus, the highly renowned 
widow of the fourteenth Mikado, under 
whose reign J apan passed happy and peace- 
ful days. How much such a song must 
please my royal aunt, who is herself ani- 
mated with a similar heroic spirit! 

^^One can see you were brought up at the 
royal palace of Meako, nephew, and truly 
this polite speech does honor to your bring- 
ing-up 1 ^ ’ said the queen, whilst for a moment 
a smile played over her haughty and by no 
means attractive features. ^^As a reward, 
bring him at once tea and cakes and game. 
Place the little table here at my feet ready 
for him, and then go and walk in the garden, 
for Sikatora and I have something of im- 
portance to discuss together.’’ 

In a trice one of the httle low tables stood 
by the queen, and, at a signal from her, 
Sikatora sat down on a mat to drink, from 
an elegant cup of finest porcelain, the frag- 
rant beverage of his country. 

^^Take some of the pheasant,” said the 
queen. ^ Ht is your share of the game which 


42 The Queen^s Nephew. 

you brought home the day before yester- 
day/^ 

have to thank the noble falcon for it, 
which your Majesty gave me. I never saw 
a more magnificent bird ; he rose up in the 
air like an arrow and fell upon the poor 
pheasant, who was just unconcernedly 
spreading out his many-colored feathers in 
the sun outside his nest.’’ 

Whilst the prince partook of the refresh- 
ment, the queen regarded him with satis- 
faction. The proud woman thought to 
have found in the youth the tool through 
whom she hoped to attain her ends — to 
satisfy her indomitable ambition and her 
fierce hatred against the Christians. — Si wan, 
her royal husband, was not a decided enemy 
of the Christians ; he had even fostered and 
protected them, and had more than once 
shown a desire to become a Christian him- 
self. Therefore she hated him. Of her 
two sons, the younger and more capable 
had really embraced Christianity, conse- 
quently she hated him also and no longer 
looked upon him as her son. The elder 
brother was a drunkard and a mere cipher ; 
she could not count on him for the attain- 


43 


The Queens’s Nephew, 

ment of her ends. But she had a brother 
named Sikatondono, one of the richest and 
most powerful princes in Japan; she had 
centred all her hopes on him for a long time 
past. But he was a quiet and easy going 
man and besides he had no children; he 
was therefore equally unqualified to be the 
founder of a new dynasty, and that was a 
part of the plan which the ambitious woman 
had laid out. She had persuaded this 
brother, Sikatondono, to adopt, from 
amongst the highest court nobles, a boy 
whom he could assure her possessed talents 
which befitted him both for a warrior and 
a ruler. 

The choice had fallen on our Sikatora 
and it appeared to be an especially fortunate 
one. The youth united in himself rich 
natural gifts both of body and mind. His 
shght and yet robust frame was well trained 
in all the exercises of chivalry to which the 
Japanese nobles attach great importance; 
his graceful and attractive manners; his 
open forehead, his bright, piercing eyes and 
his noble features, betokened a generous 
and ardent spirit and a brave and faithful 
heart. Sikatora was indeed capable of all 


44 The Qiteen^s Nephew, 

that was great and noble, and cherished in 
his mind the desire to shed his blood for 
the glory and prosperity of his native coun- 
try. All this qualified him to play the part 
in the history of Japan which the ambition 
of his royal aunt destined for him. Only 
one point still remained doubtful to her, 
viz, how he would act with regard to the 
Christians. She saw plainly that he was 
just as eager for truth as for glory, and it 
was to be feared that he also might exchange 
the religion of his country for the creed of 
the stranger. The mere possibility put the 
queen in a fury, she resolved to prevent 
betimes a step which would frustrate all her 
plans, and she hoped to attain her end by 
offering to the ambition of Sikatora a picture 
seductive enough even to induce a Christian 
to apostatize, to say nothing of keeping a 
pagan from becoming a Christian. At least 
so she thought. 

During the young man^s repast the queen 
had addressed many a friendly word to him. 
But now that he had satisfied his appetite 
and put aside the costly porcelain dishes, 
she said, drawing back the heavy silk drapery 
which gently waved over the steps of the dais : 


45 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

^^Come and sit here on this step, nephew, 
and listen to the words of your aunt! I 
saw with pleasure how you offered up the 
customary sacrifice to Midsu-no-Kami in- 
stead of the Prince of Tosa, whom the gods 
will punish. May you ever preserve this 
pious disposition towards the faith of our 
country! For, believe me, foreign manners 
and a foreign creed constitute the greatest 
danger with which our beloved country is 
threatened. Not in vain has the Emperor 
of China, for the protection of his country 
shut out all foreigners by a great wall 
three thousand miles long; but our own 
country has been far better fortified by the 
gods themselves by the water wall of the 
immense ocean which surrounds it. Ah! 
they would have been impregnable had not 
our own princes made way for the hated 
foreigners. With the help of these princes, 
they have entered, and it is high time that 
we should drive them out if we would keep 
Japan for the Japanese. How stands it 
with this our glorious island of Chimo? The 
princes of Groto, of Arima, of Omura — May 
the gods annihilate them! — are Christians; 
so the whole of the west and the middle of 


46 The Qzieen^s Nephew. 

the island belongs already to the accursed 
strangers. They are even now laying the 
foundation for the new port of Nagasaki — 
a wide breach into the protecting water- 
wall! Here in the east is the kingdom of 
Bungo almost in their power ; my own son 
has given himself over to them, and even 
Siwan, my royal consort, has more than 
once shown an inclination to adopt their 
accursed creed. 

Her eyes glittered with hatred, and her 
voice faltered as she said this. Sikatora 
was quite shocked when he looked at her 
features distorted by passion. Then she 
continued: ^^Up to the present I have suc- 
ceeded in deterring him from becoming a 
Christian. If he were to take that step, by 
Dsin-Mu, the divine founder of our kingdom, 
it would end awfully 1 So you see the power 
of the stranger is great in our island. In 
the neighboring island of Sikok, they have 
already ensnared the King of Tosa — though 
after his open apostacy to go over to the 
belief of the stranger, it will be difficult for 
him to reconquer his realm. — But the worst 
of all is the fact that, at Nippon, the great 
main island, the all powerful Shogun^ 


47 


The Queen’s Nejphew, 

Nobunanga himself, is in favor of these 
foreigners — for this Shogun, who is com- 
mander in chief of the army of the Mikado 
(the emperor,) who can trace back his 
sacred origin through the generations of 
more than two thousand years to the divine 
Dsin-Mu, and through him to the god of 
the sun himself — this Shogun, I repeat, 
has so far betrayed his trust that, in league 
with the Christian princes, he has made the 
Mikado a mere cipher and usurped all power 
to himself. Is it not a fact, nephew?^’ 

^^It is indeed as you say, aunt. He has 
made himself sole monarch, no one cares 
for the Mikado any longer at the court of 
Meako ; the foreign princes are everything 
with Nobunanga; I myself saw him, with 
the greatest courtesy, conduct them through 
all the apartments of his palace. His first 
wife adopted their religion; he treats the 
Bonzes with contempt, and he has already 
burned down several of their convents. But 
why do you speak to me of all thisT’ 
^^Why? Can you not guess why? It is 
you whom the gods are calling upon to take 
vengeance on these hated foreigners ! — Hear 
me to the end before you answer. I know 


48 The Queen’’ s Nephew, 

what you are going to say, you are only a 
boy and not yet ripe for such an under- 
taking. You are right; but in three or 
four years you will be a man, and we shall 
need that time to make our preparations. 
Only you must engage in the cause from 
this day forth. The means at your disposal 
are great, my brother, Sikatondono, rules 
over thirty thousand two-sword men ; within 
twelve months the kingdom of Tosa will be 
yours, and I will take care that the powerful 
kingdom of Bungo shall fall to you, and not 
to either of my sons. You will have com- 
mand over one hundred thousand men. And 
that is not all; the Bonzes with their in- 
numerable temple treasures ; the people with 
their tenacious belief in our ancient gods ; 
and the greater number of the princes will 
rally around you as soon as you raise the 
cry: ^For our gods and our Mikado ! Curses 
on the traitorous Schogun and his adherence 
to the foreign deceivers!’ You will reinstate 
the Mikado in his sacred authority; you 
will be, in place of Nobunanga, a faithful 
general of the crown and the savior of 
Japan. For you will deliver your country 
from the threatened domination of the 


49 


The Queeri^s Nephew. 

stranger and all future patriots will do honor 
to the nephew of the Queen of Bungo in 
their songs of heroic deeds ! What do you 
say, nephew? Does not your heart burn 
within you?’’ 

The impassioned woman had proposed 
her seductive plan in such inflammatory 
words that they were not without effect on 
the heart of the young man which was, at 
all times, susceptible to bold and brave 
deeds. He was going to declare with 
enthusiasm his willingness to enter into 
her views, when there came into his mind, 
he himself did not know how, the words of 
the Christian page, and it appeared to him 
as if he saw before him the lovely picture 
of the Virgin and Child which he had seen 
in the chapel of the Christians. So he 
answered with a calmness the queen was 
far from expecting : 

thank you, dear aunt. I will think 
over all you have said. At present I see 
only one obstacle which could possibly deter 
me from entering upon the heroic career 
you have placed before me in such glowing 
terms.” 

^^And what may that be?” 


50 


The QueepJs Nephew, 

‘ ^Tlie knowledge that the Christian religion 
was the true one,^^ he answered. 

The queen ^s countenance became white 
with passion, and she said in a tremulous 
voice: ^^Ah, if you also were to be capable 
of this treason. I would trample you under 
my feet!^^ She would have said more but 
one of the maids of honor drew near the 
Kiosk and said : 

^^My noble mistress, the king is coming ! 


Y. 

Nature and Grace. 

Several weeks had elapsed since Sikatora^s 
conversation with the queen, and the young 
man still fluctuated in indecision between the 
picture of earthly glory, which hke a brilliant 
meteor rose up before his eyes, and the voice 
of grace which spoke to his heart ever more 
and more distinctly. 

One day soon after his memorable con- 
versation with his aunt, as he was walking 
alone on the sea shore, he accidentally met 
the blind Tobias. Seating himself on a 
bench by his side, he asked him about the 
wonderful event that took place in the grove 
of Kwannon which the page had told him 
of. Tobias corroborated the fact in every 
detail, and, with much modesty, ascribed 
the miracle solely to the wonderful power 
of the sacred sign of the cross. In the 
course of the conversation about the Chris- 
tian belief, the prince remarked that the 
idea of a Grod dying on a cross was absurd. 
But Tobias explained in most impressive 

( 51 ) 


52 


The Queen* s Nephew. 

words how great the love of Grod must have 
been for him to take upon Himself our 
human nature in order to be able by His 
sufferings and death to satisfy the Divine 
justice. The prince could not deny the 
sublimity of this idea, although he was still 
far from believing in Christianity. But 
grace never ceased repeating in his heart : 
Hf it should be true? If a Grod should really 
have died on the cross for me? And if it 
were true, what ought I to do for the love 
of this Grod?’ 

Sikatora met Tobias frequently after this 
and discussed with him many other points 
of the Christian faith. That which made 
the greatest impression on him was the 
comparison between the Christian doctrine 
concerning the creation of the world, and 
the ridiculous fables of the Bonzes on the 
same subject. — They explain the formation 
of their island in the following manner; 
^One day seven of the gods met together 
when one of them threw his sword up into 
the air; a drop of water settled on it, which 
falling down, hardened and thus formed the 
main island of Japan ! ^ — Sikatora now began 
to examine the Christian religion more 


53 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

earnestly; but the queen, hearing of his 
interviews with the blind man, took measures 
to prevent them. She overwhelmed the 
youth with flattery and kept him almost 
constantly at her side. She enkindled in 
him the Are of ambition by repeating again 
and again her enticing plans. The temp- 
tation was almost too strong for him; he 
often pictured himself as commander-in- 
chief of an immense army engaged in a 
flerce battle; then again, he saw himself as 
a victor entering the conquered capital at 
the head of the army, and bringing back 
the banished Mikado in triumph amidst the 
shouts and rejoicings of the populace, and 
he already looked upon himself as the savior 
of his beloved country for whose glory he 
so ardently longed. Pictures such as these 
had on his imagination the same effect as 
the sounding of trumpets has on a flery 
war-horse longing for battle. He exercised 
himself more than ever in fencing and riding 
so that he soon became renowned and was 
considered a perfect master in all chivalrous 
arts. He excelled, even as a boy, in the use 
of the bow and arrow, and he now distin- 
guished himself with the use of a rifle which 


54 The Queen'^s Nephew. 

Eng Siwan had given him. Then again 
he sat brooding over the old pagan books 
which depicted the bloody fends of hundreds 
of years’ duration between the different 
Sh6gun families Minamoto and Tairo, Gensi 
and Feike; extolled the hero Yoritomo and 
related the glorious victories over the Tar- 
tars. The youth’s eyes glistened with the 
desire of achieving similar deeds of valor. 

But there were also hours when grace 
knocked loudly at the door of his heart. 
The queen suspected that, and she resolved 
before it was too late, to call to her aid 
her brother Sikatondono by whose advice 
she had adopted Sikatora as her nephew. 
Amongst the provinces which were subject 
to this powerful prince, was the kingdom of 
Buigen, on the frontiers of Bungo. The 
queen invited Sikatondono on a visit to 
Usuki, and when he arrived with a princely 
retinue for a lengthened stay, she spoke to 
him of Sikatora’ s attraction to the Christian 
rehgion. Great was the anger of the Japa- 
nese who, in his arrogance and pride, could 
scarcely imagine a more shameful crime 
than that of abandoning the native gods 
for the foreign creed. He therefore ordered 


55 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

Sikatora into his presence and threatened 
him with disinheritance, imprisonment and 
death, if he brought such a disgrace upon 
his name. He would not suffer the slightest 
word of explanation, and only allowed him- 
self to be somewhat appeased when the 
young man assured him he had not yet 
seriously thought of becoming a Christian. 

It will be easily understood that Sikatora, 
seeing the extreme displeasure of his adopted 
father to whom he was indebted for his 
position in life, closed his ears to the call of 
grace. But still more pernicious to him 
was the declaration of King Siwan, who 
overpowered him with marks of his favor, 
and whom he one day asked his opinion of 
the Christian religion. 

^Ht is certainly a most wonderful doc- 
trine,^’ said the king, who weighed every- 
thing calmly in the scales of political 
prudence, ^^and it is well worth our while 
to study it, as we ought also to make 
ourselves acquainted with the teaching of 
Confucius and other outlandish philoso- 
phers. The Christian moral law is pure, 
but so strict that I doubt whether it would 
be possible to live in accordance with it. 


56 The Queen^s Nephew, 

The teachers who preach it, and whom I 
have watched narrowly for five and twenty 
years, it is true, fulfil the law with astounding 
exactness : the J apanese also who adopt it 
appear to keep it faithfully. But I do not 
think it is suitable for Japan, our manners, 
are too widely opposed to its obligations. 
At all events the doctrine of our Bonzes is 
more convenient ; they permit us every sin, 
as long as we pay them rich alms.’^ 

^^But do not the great purity and holiness 
of the Christian religion evidently prove its 
truths’ asked Sikatora. 

‘Terhaps so,’’ replied King Siwan, knit- 
ting his brows. ‘^There was a time when I 
thought that, and almost resolved to become 
a Christian. I was very young then, not 
older than you are now, and at that age 
one is inclined to make rash resolutions. I 
heard the great Francis Xavier, in a five 
days’ conference, refute the most learned of 
our Bonzes ; I am astonished even now at 
the spirit and fire of his words. I could 
not do otherwise than acknowledge at the 
conclusion that the maxims of the Christian 
rehgion were good and in accordance with 
reason, but when the foreign teacher urged 


57 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

me to renounce the Japanese gods and turn to 
Ms Grod, I told him, I could not possibly do 
so then without forfeiting my kingdom, but 
I promised him I would protect his co- 
religionists. — In reply, he said he would 
pray for me that I might not, for the sake 
of my earthly crown, suffer the loss of my 
Heavenly one. He then quitted our shores, 
and I heard soon after that he died forsaken 
and miserable on an island *, how could his 
Grod, if He is the true one, reward His 
faithful servant thusT’ 

^^The Christians would say, he has his 
reward in Heaven,’’ replied the prince. 
Then he went on to say: ^Ht cannot be 
denied that our Bonzes teach a host of 
absurd lies and fables ! ’ ’ 

Quite true — but who beheves them?” 
said Siwan. ‘The Christians also teach 
much which appears nonsense to me. How- 
ever, I have not decided on any religion as 
yet, and I will wait to see which succeeds 
the best. I think that is the wisest course 
and the most fitting for a clever prince. I 
advise you therefore to do the same. By 
far the greater number of Japanese princes 
and people still hold to the service of Buddha 


58 


The Queen’s Nephew, 

or the ancient Kami ; I am ready to stand 
by them also. Some few princes and about 
one hundred thousand Japanese have 
adopted the Christian faith, and Nobunanga 
himself it appears, openly favors it. Good, 
as soon as I see that Japan decides in favor 
of Jesus Christ, I also shall be ready to 
adopt the creed. One of my sons is a 
Christian, the other worships our gods — so 
the dominion of my house is secure which- 
ever is most in favor, the foreign or our 
own native altars.’^ 

The cold, heartless calculation which was 
apparent in this speech of the king, offended 
the noble mind of the youth. He felt that 
he could be far sooner influenced by the 
queen’s ambitious plans than by the cold, 
calculating arguments of the king. But 
Siwan’s words nevertheless helped to drown 
the voice of grace in his heart, Hf Siwan, 
who heard the great Francis Xavier preach, 
and who has now for twenty five years had 
intercourse with the foreign teachers, is not 
yet fully convinced of the truth of their 
faith, it is useless for me to waste any more 
time in studying it.’ He did not consider 
that a bad will tends to darken the under- 


59 


The Queen'’ s Nephew, 

standing, and that between knowing and 
believing there is a vast distinction, and 
that for faith, hght and strength from above 
are requisite. So he almost decided to 
adhere steadily to the service of Kami, and 
devote his life to the Mikado who descended 
from the god of the sun. He conducted 
himself in accordance with these views in 
his conversations with the queen, who never 
wearied of inciting him, by flattery and 
brilhant promises, to the performance of 
her plans. First of all, he was, with her 
recommendation and that of his adopted 
father Sikatondono, to visit in the circle of 
various princes who were at enmity with the 
Shogun, so as to open up a friendly con- 
nexion with them in all parts of the island. 
Nobody was more fitted for this enter- 
prise than Sikatora whose courtly and 
attractive appearance gained all hearts. He 
was in this way, to raise step by step a 
noble escutcheon for the Mikado, so that at 
the right time, the strongest possible army 
might be assembled under the colors which 
Sikatora would unfurl. 

The struggle in the young man^s heart 
appeared to be ended; but the voice of 


60 


The Qiieen^s Nephew, 

grace was not entirely stifled. Two boys 
were praying fervently in the Mission Chapel 
before the statue of the ever blessed Virgin 
for his conversion, and the hour of grace 
was nearer than they dared to hope. 


VI. 

The Page Stephen. 

My young friends must not picture to 
themselves the palace of Usuki like Buck- 
ingham Palace or Windsor Castle, with 
balconies, towers, battlements and walls. 
It was a real Japanese palace comprising 
a vast number of separate far-stretching 
buildings connected by open colonnades 
which, by means of broad flights of steps 
and long terraces one above another, led, 
some up to the tops of the hills whilst others 
descended the slopes and sharp declivities 
into the neighboring valleys, and again 
others led down to the seashore. On the 
lowest hill range there were barracks large 
enough to accommodate two thousand men 
and horses ; on the right of the central hill- 
range dwelt the royal lance bearers and 
archers and on the left various officials, 
court attendants and pages. To arrive at 
the principal entrance of the palace, one 
had first to pass through a gateway con- 
stantly guarded by two sentinels clad in 
( 61 ) 


62 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

armor. Even the principal building was 
comprised of only two floors. It formed a 
kind of elongated quadrangle; on one of 
the smaller sides was a spacious hall, where 
officers of the body guard and other chief 
court officials were ordinarily in attendance. 
The long-stretching right wing, the windows 
of which afforded a glorious view over the 
bay, contained the apartments of the king 
and princes ; in the corresponding left wing 
were the apartments of the queen and her 
household. The other smaller side of the 
quadrangle enclosed a gigantic hall of state. 
The palace was, according to the custom in 
the country, built entirely of wood, but of 
the most precious sorts. Paintings and 
richly gilded carved work, on which were 
represented scenes of the gods and hero 
legends of Japan, hung over the frescoes 
supported by slender columns. The walls 
were covered with silken hangings magnifi- 
cently embroidered, and on the floors were 
elegant plaited mats and soft carpets. — 

But the queen^s apartments displayed far 
greater splendor ; the eye was never weary 
of looking upon the costly furniture and the 
beautifully blended gay-colored tapestry on 


63 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

the walls. The queen, surrounded by her 
attendant maids, was seated before her 
mirror busily engaged in hiding, by the aid 
of pencil and brush, the ravages which time 
had made on her once handsome features. 
The great ladies of Japan waste a great 
many hours before their mirror, putting 
rouge on their lips and pencilhng their 
eyebrows. The queen was in a very bad 
temper that day and overwhelmed her maids 
with harsh words and pettish abuse whilst 
they were adorning her hair with gold and 
precious stones and ivory ornaments set up 
so as to form a new and ingenious head- 
dress. Then she threw the brush with 
which she colored her lips at the feet of the 
poor girls, and ordered them all out of the 
room, with the exception of one who stood 
there trembling. 

^^Well, Sima,^^ said the queen, ^^did I 
not tell you to have Sikatora watched? Has 
he been to the foreign Bonzes again? 

^^No, your Majesty. The two warriors 
whom I pay with your money have watched 
him continually ; he has not been to them, 
either at their house or at the Christian 
Pagoda. Neither have they visited him. 


64 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

But the old blind sorcerer, who last year 
through his diabohcal arts forced the spirit 
of Kwannon to injure our Bonzes, had a 
long conversation with him yesterday. 

^^Maythe gods punish him! Tell me all 
you know about it! 

^^0, your Majesty, last night when the 
moon was shining, one of the two spies 
came and made a sign to me. He said, a 
boy had just come into the court-yard — it 
was the boy who leads the blind man — and 
had spoken with one of your pages who 
appeared to be waiting for him. Then the 
page — 

Which one? YonFunai!^^ 

^Wour Majesty’s sight is like that of the 
eagle ! From the whole band of pages you 
have singled him out.” 

have long suspected him of being a 
secret Christian. Only wait! I will make 
him feel my vengeance and that of the gods ! 
— Well, what more? — Gro on ! ” 

^^Then the page Yon Funai went with the 
blind man’s boy to Prince Sikatora, and 
after a short time they were all seen going 
up the hill by the winding road. Our spies 
followed and saw them enter the bhnd man’s 


65 


The Queen'^s Nephew, 

house. Whilst one remained, the other 
fetched me and, as I thought it might be 
useful to my mistress to know something 
of what they were talking about, I crept 
near and hstened to what would not other- 
wise have concerned me.^’ 

^ ^ And what did the impious creatures say? ^ ^ 

^^0 your Majesty, it was very terrible! 1 
crouched down close to the open window on 
which the rays of the moon were falling — 
a camelha bush hid me from their view, but 
I was able to see all the parties present and 
hear every word that was said. There was 
only the blind man besides Prince Sikatora 
and the two boys in the room. As I came 
up, the blind man was blaspheming all our 
gods; he said, they were nothing but 
abominable devils. — I hope your Majesty 
will supply me with money to offer a sacri- 
fice for having repeated such words. — But 
Prince Sikatora was not of the same opinion 
as the blind man and contradicted him. I 
cannot tell you all the clever arguments he 
brought forward, but I remember one of 
them ; he told him his teaching undermined 
the foundations of Japan whose hereditary 


66 The Queen’s Nephew. 

rulers were the Mikados, because they 
descended from the god of the sun.^^ 

^^Bravo! Sikatora is not lost yet. And 
what did the blasphemer answer 

^^Your Majesty, he spoke of a Child Grod 
who came to make all men true children of 
Grod, and of a magical bath in which they 
were born again, also of a magical bread 
which would give them eternal life. Yes, he 
had the audacity to say, he himself and the two 
boys had been made children of Grod in this 
bath, and he invited the prince to make use 
of the same means. But he must first of 
all renounce all the Japanese gods. There- 
upon Prince Sikatora replied, that according 
to this doctrine every beggar could be a 
child of Grod, and there would then be no 
more authority. But the blind man said, 
the Christians submitted themselves to 
authority because it is the will of Grod, and 
he told a long story about how fifteen 
hundred years ago the Christians showed 
inviolable fidelity to wicked emperors in 
spite of cruel persecution.’^ 

^^We will put their obedience to the test. 
What more happened!” 

^^The blind man gave the prince a book. 


67 


The Queen'’ s Nephew, 

and begged him to read it attentively. It 
contained the whole Christian doctrine, and 
if there was anything he did not understand 
he was to pray to Grod for hght and ask the 
page — they call him Stephen or something 
hke that — or, still better, he was to seek 
instruction from the Japanese helpers of 
the foreign Bonzes who have translated the 
book. He said he himself was to sail for 
Tosa to-day. King Paul had asked for 
him. In conclusion, he said he hoped he 
should find the prince a child of Hod on his 
return from Tosa. They then separated. 
That is all, your Majesty.^’ 

^^The blind beggar will be useful to the 
madman of Tosa,^’ said the queen scorn- 
fully. ^Ht is well, Sima, now let Sikatora 
be summoned to my presence. 

^^Your Majesty, the prince went off with 
the king and about thirty hunters very early 
this morning up into the hills to hunt. They 
are not expected to return before morning.’^ 

^^True, I had forgotten. But so much 
the better. Call the page Von Funai to me 
at once. Tell Eatiku to have one of his 
men in readiness. 


68 The Queen^s Nephew, 

^^0 my mistress, you are not going to order 
Mm to be put to death 

^^What is that to you? Take care you do 
not draw my anger on yourself ! 

The girl went out of the room, and in the 
course of a few minutes the boy stood before 
his mistress. He was rather pale, for the 
^ tone and manner in which Sima called him 
led him to expect a scene which he had 
already half in fear and half in joy antici- 
pated. He had prepared himself for it by 
prayer and was even now breatMng a silent 
prayer whilst his innocent eyes looked up 
questioningly at the countenance of the 
queen. Then he prostrated himself touching 
the carpet with his forehead and knelt down 
in obedience to a sign from the queen at a 
short distance from her. 

^^Your parents are dead, are they not?’’ 
she asked with assumed kindness. 

^^Yes, my mistress, they both died when 
your humble servant was very young. My 
father fell in the battle against Satsuma 
and my mother did not long survive him.” 

will be your mother then, presuming 
that your behavior is deserving of such a 
favor, Gro now to the Bonzes and bring 


169 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

me one of the little gold Kitsneh (Foxes) 
for we will offer up a sacrifice together to 
Inari, the protecting god of the rice fields/^ 

^^0, your Majesty, I cannot, I dare not 
do thatF^ 

^^What do I hear? Bring the holy fox 
here immediately! 

dare not. I am a Christian and I dare 
not offer sacrifice to the gods,’^ said the boy 
firmly. 

What I you defy me? You will not 
obey the command of your queen ! Do you 
not know how I can punish a disobedient 
servant?’’ 

^Wou can have me beaten,” answered 
Stephen with tears in his eyes. ^^But my 
Giod was scourged and crucified for me.” 

^^Nonsense! about a Grod who hung on a 
cross,” cried the queen scornfully. will 
not only flog you, but will crucify you also 
like your Grod.” 

^ ^Scourge me, crucify me if you will, but 
do not blaspheme the dear Savior, who died 
on the Cross for you as well as for me!” 
replied the boy as he sprang, in holy enthu- 
siasm, from the floor where he was kneeling. 
With flashing eyes and hands uplifted, he 


70 The Qiieen^s Nephew, 

cried out: know you hate Him and His 

servants. But take care ! He mil one day 
come in the clouds down from Heaven with 
His holy Cross, in great power and majesty 
and condemn all His enemies to eternal death 
in the everlasting flames of hell! 

The queen turned pale, her features be- 
came distorted and deadly wrath shot forth 
from her eyes. She clapped her hands and 
cried: ^^Help! Sima, Oza and all of you! 
See,^’ said she to her attendants who rushed 
into the room in a great fright, ^‘see! It has 
gone so far as this with these Christians 
that a boy, not only refuses to obey the 
Queen of Bungo, but stands in front of her 
and threatens her with the flames of hell ! 
You see how he dares to stand before his 
queen. Ah, I really believe he would like 
to kill me. Quick, Sima, call my eldest 
son, Joscimon to me and send Eatiku with 
his men into the ante-room.’^ 

The pages and several other servants came 
into the room on hearing the noise. At a 
signal from the queen, they seized the boy 
and tied his hands together. A few minutes 
later Prince J oscimon rushed in quite out 
of breath. The young man had very slight 


71 


The Qiieen^s Nephew, 

intellectual gifts, as his silly look immedi- 
ately betrayed. Besides his bad passions 
had weakened his will and left their mark 
unmistakably imprinted on his pale features 
^^What is thisr’ cried he. ^^Mutiny? Mother 
has your hfe been attempted? Who is it! 
Ah ! this insolent fellow, who showed such 
disrespect to me, the other day when I, in 
honor of Inari, had drunk somewhat too 
freely of the sacred rice-brandy.’’ 

^Moscimon, avenge your mother! He has 
refused to obey me, threatened me with 
death and blasphemed our gods,” cried the 
queen in a voice trembling with passion. 

The poor page stood in the midst of the 
courtiers, between the queen and her son, 
hke a lamb in the power of wolves. In 
vain he tried to raise his fettered hands to 
implore mercy, in vain his tearful eyes 
looked for pity, and when he wanted to 
defend himself, the brutal Joscimon struck 
him in the face with his fist, so that blood 
fiowed from his mouth and nose. ^ AVhat! ” 
shrieked the prince, ^^you would make my 
mother a liar would you! Where is Eatiku! 
where are his bamboo rods! Here, make 
way! Here, before the eyes of the queen. 


72 


The Queen'^s Nephew, 

the fellow shall have his first reckoning. Ah, 
ah, he shall receive his first instalment 
The executioner came forward and laid 
the page on his face flat to the ground. 
Then he and his men took their bamboo 
rods in their hands and looked to J oscimon 
for the sign to begin the fearful punishment. 

^^One moment,^’ said the queen. ^^Boy, 
that you may know how good I am, I will 
remit your punishment provided you imme- 
diately deny the foreign faith and offer 
sacrifice to our gods.^^ 

would rather die,’^ said Stephen. 

^^But you will at least obey my commands 
and fetch me the holy fox?^^ 
dare not! 

Strike!^’ cried both Joscimon and the 
queen. Instantly the bamboo rods fell 
upon the boy’s back. Blow after blow 
whizzed through the air; a slight groan 
was the only answer. The boy writhed 
with pain, but he prayed for strength and 
steadfastness. He thought of his patron 
saint Stephen; then came from his heart 
and lips a sweet petition for his tormentors. 
^Lord, forgive them; they know not what 


The Queen’^s Nephew. 73 

they do!’ Involuntarily the executioners 
stopped and looked at the queen. 

^^Will you fetch the Inari’s fox now?” 
said she. But the boy only shook his head 
and went on praying. Then the bamboo 
rods whizzed through the air again and did 
not cease their cruel work till the prayers 
and moans of the little martyr all at once 
ceased. 

^^You are beating him to death,” one of 
the court officials ventured at last to say. 
^^Oh, no, he is only pretending,” answered 
the brutal Joscimon. ^^But that will do for 
to-day; to-morrow when he is stronger 
again he shall die on the cross. Shut him 
up in the meantime in the soldiers’ prison 
and take care he does not escape. There 
ought to have been an example made of 
one or two Christians a long time ago, either 
by crucifying them or roasting them over a 
slow fire, for they are rascals and traitors 
to the kingdom. My father is too good 
with this rabble, but, mother, we two will 
root them out! To prison with him! ” 


VII. 

The Hunt. 

Whilst Stephen lay senseless on a bundle 
of rice straw in the dark prison, Sikatora 
followed the royal hunting party full of hfe 
and spirits through wood and over hill. 
The day had begun with gay falconry. Even 
at the present time this way of hunting, 
similar to what we practised in the middle 
ages, is yet in use and much appreciated in 
Japan*, but it was still more so in the 
sixteenth century when falconry formed a 
part of the education of princes and nobles : 
there is even at the present time a work in 
the Japanese language about falcon-breeding 
which contains no less than seventytwo 
volumes. 

- The hunting party rode first to a little 
lake the banks of which were surrounded 
by high reeds were numberless dwellers of 
the morass and water-fowl disported them- 
selves. King Siwan, his guest Sikatondono, 
Sikatora and the principal gentlemen of the 
court drew rein at the edge of a little wood. 

( 74 ) 


75 


The Queen's Nephew. 

Between that and the reed-edge of the lake 
spread out a broad fiat meadow where the 
hunt was to take place as soon as the drivers 
came over from the other bank in boats and 
scared the birds. 

‘^Hold yourselves ready/ ^ said the king. 
^^When the boats disturb the outside reed- 
edge the signal will be given. 

The gentlemen took their falcons from 
the hands of their attendants, perching 
them on their left wrists. The birds pecked 
at the leathern gloves of their captors im- 
patiently, and shook their heads which were 
covered with elegant little hoods. Sikatora^s 
falcon was a particularly handsome and 
proud-looking bird : he ill-humoredly bristled 
up his reddish-brown black-bordered feath- 
ers. ^^Ah, Buz,^^ said the prince, stroking 
the feathers on his neck, ^‘do you hear that 
cackling and cooing, whisthng and calling 
in the reeds? That is a bittern and no prey 
for you! You must choose a royal bird. 
There are the wild ducks quacking — let 
them fly! But there — is not that an Ibis? 
Mark well the fellow with the red head and 
white tuft, and the long, arched, violet 
beak! 


76 The Queen’s Nephew. 

Now a pair of wild ducks flew out and 
passed with out-stretched neck over the 
fleld and through the wood to a broader 
and higher swamp . A shrill whistle sounded 
immediately after from the lake. ^^The 
drivers are on the spot/^ said the king. 
^^Now, Sikatora, let me have a proof of 
your skill. With these words he blew a 
little silver horn and the sound had not yet 
ceased when loud shouts came from the 
lake and at the same time the attendants 
pressed forward to the banks from right to 
left, letting the dogs loose in the bushes 
and making a fearful noise. A whole flock 
of birds rose screeching in the air. Unde- 
cided, they wavered in their flight over the 
reed bed ; it seemed as if they wanted to fly 
over the heads of the drivers away across 
the lake •, but the boatmen raised a loud cry 
and struck the water with their oars so that 
the birds were frightened and whirled round 
and took the same course over the flelds 
and woods which the wild ducks had just 
taken. When the principal part of them 
were fluttering about in the middle of the 
field, the king gave a second signal and the 
riders rushed out from the wood where they 


77 


The Queen'^s Nephew. 

had been hidden. The birds had no sooner 
seen the new enemy than they wanted to go 
back again, but the yelping of the dogs and 
the shouting and beating of the drivers in 
the reeds, had the effect that they fluttered 
about undecided where to go. The con- 
fusion became still greater when a few of 
the hunters chanced to let their falcons up. 
When the bird on Sikatora’s wrist heard 
the clear battle cry of his companions, he 
was scarcely to be held back ; he beat his 
wings and shook his head so that the little 
bell in his cap rang loudly. ‘ ^Be still. Buz, ^ ^ 
said Sikatora. There is no booty yet 
which is worthy of you. — A couple of 
spoonbills and bitterns that your brothers 
are quarreling over, that you can get at any 
time. But look there ! What is that going 
up out of the reed bed with slow, wide 
stretching wings flapping! The fellow sees 
you. Buz; see, how his white feathers 
glisten.’’ 

So saying he unhooked the falcon’s little 
chain, took his cap off and threw him with 
a powerful swing into the air. For a moment 
the falcon soared gently, then his sparkling 
eyes fastened upon the ibis, who tried to 


78 


The Queen’’ s Nephew, 

escape him by curving round and beating 
his wings rapidly. The falcon rose instantly ; 
the ibis saw the enemy and rose also, and 
then they tried to out-do each other in 
turning their wings. But the falcon soon 
overtook and with a loud cry threw 
himself upon his prey. The ibis stretched 
out his long neck towards the enemy and 
tried to attack him with his sharp beak. 
One moment the two birds whirled round 
in the air; then the ibis turned over and 
fell down with his head all covered with 
blood. But before he reached the ground 
Sikatora was on the spot and caught the 
beautiful bird in his hand, — a feat which is 
considered very clever in the falcon hunter. 

^^Bravo!’^ cried the king. ^^You do 
Sikatondono, your teacher in the noble 
chase, honor. Just at the right moment 
you let your falcon fly and you have cleverly 
captured the booty. Look, there goes a 
pair of wild geese. Now show whether you 
are as sure with your arrow! ’’ 

^^They are swan-geese,^’ said Sikatora, 
‘ ^properly speaking, only the Mikado should 
shoot them.” 

The Shogun does it also,” cried Siwan. 


79 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

^^And what the Shogun of Nippon does, 
that also may the King of Bungo permit 
himself in his kingdom.’^ 

^^So, in your name then/^ said the prince 
and drew two arrows out of his quiver. He 
took one between his lips and laid the other 
on the ground. With a strong jerk he 
drew the cord and took aim. The bow 
sounded and sent the arrow into the breast 
of the male bird, so that it turned over and 
with out-spread wings fell to the earth. 
But even before it reached the ground, 
Sikatora took aim a second time and the 
female bird also fell, shot through the neck. 

Loud applause from the hunting party 
followed this two-fold clever shot. The 
prince sprang from his horse, picked up the 
two heavy birds and brought them to the 
king together with the very uncommon 
bird, the ibis. ^ ^Prince, said he, ^ ^permit 
your grateful servant to offer you these 
fruits of his success ! it is to be hoped there 
will come a day when I may aim my arrows 
at your enemies instead of at defenceless 
birds . May they be equally successful then ! ^ ’ 
Siwan was as agreeably surprised by the 
Princess singular adroitness as by the grace- 


80 The Queen^s Nephew. 

ful way in which he brought his booty to 
him. He could not forbear contrasting the 
rough manners and the mean attainments 
of his first-born with the truly princely 
character of Sikatora, and a resolution, 
which he had often pondered over of late, 
came to a decision in his mind. But, at 
the moment, he only said: thank you. 

You shall ask of me, one of these days, 
some special favor, and this trophy shall be 
registered among the memorable events of 
the royal chase.’’ 

The hunt went on and afforded Sikatora 
more than one opportunity of proving his 
skill in horsemanship and archery. Thus 
he succeeded, shooting at full gallop, in 
killing with his arrow a grey fox which the 
shots of all his companions had failed to hit. 

In the evening the company halted in a 
lovely valley where the king’s portable 
hunting pavilion was pitched on the borders 
of a clear brook. At the repast, which 
Siwan, surrounded by the highest gentlemen 
of his court, partook of, he especially dis- 
tinguished Sikatora. Then, in the course 
of conversation, he turned towards Yosihao, 
his chancellor — a kind man well skilled in 


81 


The Queen's Nephew. 

the Japanese laws — and asked him if the 
case had ever been known that a J apanese 
prince had given his kingdom to a stranger, 
to the exclusion of his next of kin. The 
courtiers listened eagerly whilst Yosihao 
replied that there were many such cases on 
record, and quoted a whole list of them. 
At length he added, that such a transfer 
was nevertheless only allowable when the 
heir, through moral or bodily defects was 
unfit to govern, but that it might then be 
even a sacred duty for the king to do so, as 
he ought to have the good of his people in 
view before all else. 

After the repast the king dismissed all 
the company except Sikatondono and Sika- 
tora. With these princes he seated himself 
in the pavilion under the shade of a gigantic 
plane, which spread its branches over the 
brook. ^ ^Brother, he began, turning to- 
wards his royal guest, ^^your son Sikatora 
has given me great pleasure to-day. I wish 
now to lay before you a plan which has 
occupied my mind for some time past. 
Sikatora must not answer me now, but only 
listen and think the matter over in his own 
mind. It is my intention that my kingdom 


82 The Queen’’ s Nephew, 

shall devolve, not on Joscimon who is 
unworthy of it, nor on my second son who 
has become a Christian, but on Sikatora. 
The kingdom of Tosa shall also be his, and, 
as your own inheritance will likewise fall to 
him, he will be the most powerful prince of 
this glorious insular kingdom and hold the 
fate of Japan in his hands. There is only* 
one condition you will have to agree to,’^ 
said he, turning towards the prince, ^ Vhich 
political prudence demands of you. You 
must not become a Christian at present.^’ 
^‘Fall down, my son, and thank the king 
for this overwhelming proof of his favor, 
exclaimed Sikatondono. — ^^He will never 
dare to be a Christian, never, never. — I 
would rather see him dead at my feet than 
kneehng before a crucifix! ’’ 

Sikatora knelt and kissed the hand of the 
king ; but no word passed his lips. Later 
in the evening Siwan sent for him and said : 
^‘Understand me well! I did not say you 
must never be a Christian, but only that 
you must not become one yet. Probably 
later on when you once have the power in 
your own hands and possess the love of 
your subjects; hut not now. It would be 


83 


The Queen’s Nephew, 

the same with you as with my brother-in-la\^^ 
of Tosa who, certainly recovered his king- 
dom by the help of my troops, but, as soon 
as he practised the Christian religion, was 
robbed of it again by the Bonzes. I know 
you have thought of leaving the Japanese 
gods and I do not ask you to believe in 
them; I know the httle book which you 
were reading a short time ago, and I grant 
that what it contains is more sensible than 
the teaching of our Bonzes ; but state-policy 
to whose counsels a wise prince always 
listens, demands absolutely that you go no 
further now. You will therefore break off 
all communication with the blind man and 
also with the page Von Funai. — Go now to 
your tent and rest yourself. Look what a 
lovely sunset it is ! What a glorious, what a 
rich country this is which the sun is now 
gilding with its setting rays ! Look at the 
mountains and hills, the vast plain, the 
glistening bay — all that shall one day be 
yours! — Only be prudent! Good night, my 
son ! You shall not give me your answer yet. ’ ’ 
Deeply moved, the youth went to his tent. 
How was it, that a paragraph in the blind 
man^s httle book, would not go out of his 


84 The Queen^s Nephew, 

mind the whole night? The words were: 
^All these will I give thee if thou wilt fall 
down and worship me. ’ But the temptation 
was too strong. ^^He only demands of me 
not to take the step now/^ said the youth 
to himself, and he resolved to agree to the 
condition, as towards morning he fell into 
a disturbed sleep. He dreamed he was 
hunting. The game he was following, at 
full gallop, over hill and dale, was a won- 
derful creature, half fox, half eagle. And 
when at length he got near it, it disappeared, 
and the page Stephen stood defore him 
with the silken hat of the Shogun in one 
hand, and a crown of thorns in the other. 
^ ^Choose ! ^ ’ said the page to him. Laughing, 
he stretched out his hand to seize the 
Shogun’s hat, but, to his horror, got it 
entangled in the crown of thorns, and — 
woke. The dream was so vivid that he 
fancied he felt the pain still in his hand. 


yiii. 

Prince Sebastian. 

When Stephen came to himself again 
after the cruel scourging, he was lying on a 
hard straw bed in the prison. It was some 
time before he could recall his thoughts. 
All was dark around him ; he groped about 
and felt the rice straw and the wall, but 
when he tried to get up, he struck his head 
against the ceiling of the low and narrow 
dungeon. Every limb ached; but he was 
more especially tormented with a horrible 
thirst. At length he remembered what had 
happened the day before — the queen ^s 
order, his refusal, her anger and the cruel 
blows. He also had a vague idea that Jos- 
cimon had sentenced him to death, but he 
could not clearly remember anything more. 
A sweet joy filled his heart; he thanked 
Grod that He had found him worthy to 
suffer for His name and prayed for strength 
to bear the last struggle. 

His thirst at length compelled him to try 
to find out whether there was not a jug of 

( 85 ) 


86 The Q'ueen^s Neplieiv. 

water placed somewhere for him and he 
succeeded in finding one. He had just 
raised it to his lips when the thought 
occurred to him whether it might be possible 
for the missionary to bring him Holy Com- 
munion before his death, and he put the 
jug down again. Then he listened and it 
seemed to him as if he heard footsteps out- 
side and he called out. After a time the 
door was opened. 

The gaoler, an old man, entered and 
through the half open door there came in 
sufficient daylight for him to see the prisoner 
if necessary. ^^Oh, oh,’^ he began, ^ds the 
bird fledged again? Yes, yes, that’s what 
becomes of the plovers when they are too 
bold! Whatever possessed you to defy Jos- 
cimon and the queen? I advise you to beg 
for forgiveness at once when the prince 
comes, then perhaps he will remit 
your sentence. Or shall I bring you a 
sharp dagger that you may take your own 
life. As you are the son of a nobleman 
that would be more fitting for you than to 
die like a slave on a cross.” 

^^Dear old Chusa, you don’t know what 
you are saying. To take one’s own life is a 


87 


The Queen'^s Nephew. 

crime, whereas to die on the cross is an 
honor for a Christian. But since I must 
die, will you promise to grant me a last 
favor? — Send your grandson to the 
foreign teachers and tell them: I beseech 
one of them to come to me and bring me 
the Bread of life.^^ 

The gaoler at last consented to send a 
message to the missionary, but gave little 
hopes that Joscimon would let him enter 
the prison. He then placed a bowl of rice 
by the side of the boy^s bed and locked the 
door again. Stephen waited hour after 
hour; but none of the priests came with 
the longed-for Bread of life. 

Fr. Cabral had already on the previous 
day, as soon as the news of the event reached 
the Mission-house, assembled his brethren 
together and taken counsel with them as to 
what was to be done. It was the first case 
of open persecution in the kingdom of 
Bungo, and they resolved to make every 
effort to prevent the spark from breaking 
out into a conflagration which would mean 
.ruin to the infant community. The mission- 
aries therefore sent a swift messenger to 
‘prince Sebastian, who since his conversion 


88 The Queen’s Nephew, 

had withdrawn from the court and Uved on 
an estate, which the king had made over to 
him, situated at about a day’s distance from 
the palace. do not think King Siwan 
will break the promise which he gave to 
Francis Xavier, and allow the sentence of 
death to be accomphshed,” said Fr. Cabral. 
But I believe this Joscimon and his mother, 
who foster a really diabolical hatred against 
the Christians, to be capable of the very 
worst. It is to be hoped Prince Sebastian 
will succeed in keeping his unworthy brother 
in check till the king arrives. I will myself 
set out on the road by which the king is 
expected to return to-morrow, and remind 
him of his promise.” 

This plan was decided upon, and one of 
those couriers, who even up to the present 
day act as messengers with astounding 
celebrity in Japan, took a letter from Fr. 
Cabral to Prince Sebastian and by noon on 
the eighth day the prince, accompanied by 
only two attendants, arrived at the Mission- 
house. Almost at the same time, came 
from the castle the gaoler’s grandson with 
Stephen’s petition for Holy Communion to 
be brought to him. The boy also told them 


89 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

that Joscimon had given orders for a cross 
to be erected on the sea-shore. ^^He has 
drunk a deal of holy Saki (rice brandy) and 
is in a furious temper/^ said the boy. 

^^You have not come a moment too soon 
then/’ said Fr. Cabral, turning to the 
prince. ^^It will be well for us to start at 
once for the palace. Through your inter- 
cession I shall be admitted into the prison, 
a favor for which I begged in vain yester- 
day evening. You will do your best to 
prevent the crime, and I will take Holy 
Communion with me for our brave 
Stephen.” 

Fr. Cabral went at once to the chapel and 
after a short prayer, opened the tabernacle 
and placed a sacred Host in the golden Fix 
which he secreted under his garment. Then 
the two men went towards the palace in 
perfect silence, adoring the invisible God- 
man which the priest was carrying under 
the species of bread. The sentinels at the 
first door were going to refuse admittance 
to the missionary, as they were expressly 
forbidden to let the foreign Bonzes in, but 
the prince took the responsibility upon him- 
self, and so they went together up the broad 


90 


The Queen^s Nepheiv. 

staircase and arrived -without delay at the 
prison which was situated in a retired back 
court. Old Chusa ventured no protest 
when the prince asked for the prison door 
to be opened. 

When they entered the dark room, they 
found the page very much exhausted. HaK- 
fainting and his lips burning with fever, he 
had lain there for hours praying for the 
coming of the priest. The first word which 
he stammered out in a hoarse voice was: 

Father, have you brought me the Bread 
of Heaven and when the missionary 
answered in the affirmative, the boy lifted 
his poor wounded hmbs with great effort 
from the bundle of straw, and thew himself 
down at the feet of the priest in adoration 
before the Savior whom he bore. am 
still fasting, said he. would not drink 
a drop of water so that I might be able to 
receive my Savior. Now I am willing to 
die.^^ 

At a signal from the priest, the prince 
drew back and Stephen made his confession. 
That was soon done. Then he received 
Holy Communion with great devotion. 
Prince Sebastian, who was deeply moved, 


91 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

knelt down by the straw bed and said the 
Confiteor. After the solemn* act, the two 
remained a short time longer Avith Stephen, 
who, filled with Heavenly consolation, 
offered his fife a sacrifice to Grod. Tears of 
emotion flowed down the cheeks of the two 
men. Then Fr. Cabral remarked that it 
was time to go. Both asked the prayers 
of the boy, if the sacrifice Avhich he had just 
offered to the Lord should be accepted. 
will pray for all,^^ said he, — ‘ffor the king 
and the noble Sikatora, and even for Josci- 
mon and his mother, that God may have 
mercy on them. But you, pray also for me. 
Father, give me your blessing ! If I am not 
put to death, remember the petition which 
I laid before you a short time ago.’^ 

receive you already into our company,’^ 
said Fr. Cabral, deeply moved. They then 
left the prison. The missionary hurried off 
with one of his companions to meet the 
king. Prince Sebastian next tried to per- 
suade old Chusa to get ready, in his own 
house, a more comfortable bed for the 
prisoner and to call in a doctor to dress his 
wounds. The gaoler shook his head and 
would not hear of it at first ; he said : it was 


92 The Queen’’ s Nepheio, 

unheard of in Japan that such consideration 
should he shown to a condemned criminal, 
and what good would the doctor^ s services 
be when Eatiku had already prepared the 
cross for the stubborn page, who had been 
so obstinate with the queen? At last Chusa 
allowed himself to be won over by the per- 
suasion of a gold piece and the promise that 
Prince Sebastian would take upon himself 
all responsibility with regard to Prince Jos- 
cimon, and he agreed to provide the page 
with, at least, a more airy prison, a softer 
couch, and better food. Then the prince 
had the executioner, Eatiku, summoned by 
Chusa’s grandson. He came, after some 
hesitation; his surly countenance however 
gave reason to fear that he would be very 
unlikely to fall in with Sebastian ^s desires. 
He answered the question as to whether he 
had Joscimon’s orders to put the boy to 
death, in the affirmative. ^^The cross is 
erected, said he sullenly, ^^and when the 
sun reaches the hills, the stubborn fellow 
must die.^^ 

^^No, he must not die, at all events, not 
before my father, who is expected to return 


The Qiieen^s Nephew. 93 

from the hunt to-day, has arrived and rati- 
fied my brother's sentence/’ 

Ratiku elevated his eye-brows and said: 
^Trince, your elder brother has given orders 
for this execution.” 

^^But the sentence is most unjust, and 
Joscimon agreed to it when he was intox- 
icated! ” 

^^Ratiku has nothing to do with that. He 
does what he is ordered. Since when in 
Japan, has a servant the right to judge his 
master! Besides the boy has blasphemed 
our gods and threatened the queen with 
death.” 

^^Did he threaten her with death!” 

^^Yes, prince, and ovenwith. eternal death ., 
and so it is only right and proper that he 
should die on the cross. I have put many 
a one far more innocent than he to death, 
and I was perfectly justified in doing so.” 

Prince Sebastian saw that he could not 
succeed with him by entreaties, so he offered 
him money to, at least, find means of putting 
off the execution of the sentence till the king 
came back. But the man, who hated the 
Christians, and had longed for some time 
past to exercise his horrible trade upon 


94 


The Qtieen^s Nephew. 

them, was not to be persuaded. ^^The cross 
is erected,’^ said he. ^^The spear which is 
to pierce the breast of the condemned crimi- 
nal is sharpened; what more do you want! 
Speak to Joscimon. If Joscimon does not 
countermand the order the boy will die with 
the last rays of the setting sun! 

Sebastian resolved to seek his mother and 
brother, although he had little hope of 
bringing the drunkard to his senses . Ratiku 
cast an evil glance on the prince as he was 
leaving the prison and said: ^^Look out for 
yourself! If Joscimon ever comes to his 
father^s throne your head won’t be any 
firmer on your shoulders than any other 
Christian’s. Ah, there’ll be plenty of work 
then!” 

With a heavy heart, Sebastian ascended 
the steps and entered the outer court of the 
royal palace. The officer of the body-guard 
met him with the words: ^ ^Prince, I advise 
you to leave the palace! Your brother is in 
such a furious temper that your life is not 
safe.” 

^^My presence is only all the more neces- 
sary then. How long has the court of Bungo 
been a scene of such sanguinary caprice that 


95 


The Queen’’ s Nephew, 

even a child of the house must flee? It is 
your duty to forcibly prevent my brother, 
who is not in a fit state to command, from 
carrying out his cruel intentions. I will take 
the whole responsibility upon myself. Can 
you rely on the body-guard?’’ 

The officer shook his head and said: 
don’t know. I fear not. The Bonzes have 
been here and demanded the fife of the page 
in the name of Inaris.” 

must go to my mother then,” said 
Prince Sebastian. Just then Joscimon, 
with a few of his drinking companions, 
came out of a side entrance which led to the 
queen’s apartments. One glance at his 
brother’s flushed countenance and dull 
watery eyes convinced Sebastian that it 
would be useless to waste words upon him. 
He was passing on ; but the drunkard took 
him by the arm and shrieked out: ^^Oh, oh, 
little brother, are you here? Do you want to 
see how we crucify those Christian toads? 
Come on. I will tell that scamp of a Ratiku 
he shall not wait any longer, or my father 
will come in the end and spoil the sport.” 

^ ^Joscimon, I come to ask you to wait till 
father returns. It may be bad for you if 


96 


The Queen’s Nex:>hew. 

you let a sentence of death be carried out in 
his absence.’^ 

^‘What! threats! little brother, you also 
are one of those traitors! Take care least 
Inari, or Hatsiman or some other of our 
gods should demand your head. By the 
divine Dsin-mu, I should hke -to see you 
struck down this day! 

do not believe you are as bad as that, 
brother, let me go; I want to speak to 
mother.’’ 

^^Well, speak with mother as much as you 
please. I am going to look up Eatiku, and 
then the toad shall be crushed. Do you 
hear? Crushed, crushed!” 


IX. 

The Crisis. 


Prince Sebastian was not graciously 
received. His mother hated him because 
he had left the Japanese rehgion for the 
Christian, and she hated him all the more 
bitterly because, before that happened, she 
had centred all those ambitious hopes on 
him, which she now looked to Sikatora to 
accomplish. She would not raise a finger 
to save the life of the page; it was Josci- 
mon’s opportunity, for he was by law and 
custom the representative of the king in his 
absence. Besides, when had there ever 
before been in Japan such a commotion 
made about the life of a servant? At her 
father’s court, very nearly every week one 
of them was hanged for lesser faults than 
this stiff-necked boy had committed, who 
had dishonored the gods and threatened his 
queen with death and hell. The Bonzes of 
Inari were quite right in demanding his 
death, which properly speaking, all those 
deserved who had denied the Japanese gods. 


( 97 ) 


98 The Queen'^s Nephew, 

The queen cast a look of hatred on her 
son as she said these last words ; she then 
rose and left the room. The prince could 
still hear the rustling of her silken garment, 
and he considered whether he should hasten 
after her and throw himself at her feet and 
implore her by the love which she once bore 
him, not to make herself an accomplice in 
such a cruel deed, nor endanger her salva- 
tion any longer by a passionate conflict 
against the doctrine of Christ. But he felt 
the uselessness of such a step and said to 
himself: should enrage her the more and 

cause her to commit still greater sin. Poor 
mother! It is you, who are to be pitied, 
not the good Stephen, who has gained the 
crown of martyrdom.’’ 

Truly all hope seemed to be over. Already 
the sun was declining over the Asojama, 
and the shore was thronged with a crowd of 
people, eager to witness the cruel spectacle, 
the news of which had become widely 
spread. Not far from the spot where we met 
the blind Tobias in the commencement of 
our story, stood the cross, made of rough 
planks. Two ladders were placed against 
it, one for the executioner and one for the 


99 


The Qiieen^s Nephetv. 

victim; it being customary in Japan, for 
the condemned to mount the cross whilst it 
was erect ; the victim standing on the first 
rung, was compelled to spread out his arms 
which were then firmly fastened with cords 
to the crossbeam. Other bands were slung 
round the legs and the perpendicular beams. 
The victim was obliged to remain in this 
painful position, in sight of all the people ; 
two executioners with sharp, broad, iron 
spears pierced the condemned through the 
breast. Thus died the twenty six holy mar- 
tyrs of Nagasaki, whose feast the Church 
keeps on the 5th of February, amongst 
them were three boys — and thus also our 
Stephen was to die. 

They were just leading him down the 
broad palace steps, leaning on the arm of 
Eatiku, for his bruised limbs could scarcely 
bear him. Joscimon also, who was in the 
midst of the armed troop which had con- 
ducted the condemned to the cross, staggered 
shamefully and was himself obliged to be 
supported ; the saki had very nearly deprived 
him, not only of his senses, but also of the 
use of his limbs. 

A great commotion arose in the crowd 


100 The Queen^s Nephew. 

when the boy became visible between the 
armed men. The Bonzes and their followers 
of fanatical worshippers of the gods, wanted 
to overwhelm him with opprobrious words, 
but the beginning found no hearty response. 
When the people saw the pale and yet joyful 
countenance of the boy, they were seized 
with astonishment and compassion; they 
had never before seen such a beautiful ex- 
pression on the features of a condemned 
criminal on his way to the cross. Amongst 
the spectators there was also a group of 
Christians who pressed forward and called 
out to the boy^words of farewell and encour- 
agement, and when he asked for their 
prayers, they also begged his intercession 
at the throne of Grrace. Many tears of deep 
emotion were shed, and that amazed silence, 
with which later on the heathens of Japan 
witnessed so many burnt-offerings of Chris- 
tian martyrs, spread more and more widely 
amongst the crowd of spectators. In vain 
the Bonzes tried to incite the people to 
invectives; their voices found no response 
and died off gradually. A still more unfavor- 
able impression was made by the words of 
the intoxicated Joscimon who, with stam- 


The Queen’s Nephew. lOi 

mering speech, abused the page and blas- 
phemed the God of the Christians. 

^^Ah, ah,” cried he, pretty god who 
allows himself to be crucified! We will 
crucify his adorers also. All of them — do 
you hear? There are a couple of thousands 
of them in the kingdom — and they shall all 
come to it — as soon as my father is dead 
— all, all! Ratiku, you must get a hundred 
helpmates and instruct them well in the 
art of crucifying; for, from here as far 
as Funai, crosses shall be erected side by 
side, and we will never cease crucifying and 
flaying and roasting till not a single Christian 
is left in the land. What sport it will be! 
And my brother, whom I see coming along 
behind, shall come to it too ! Come along, 
brother, you shall see with your own eyes 
how you will be served one of these days. 
Only your cross must be three or four feet 
higher as becomes a prince of Bungo.^^ 

Prince Sebastian had hastened away from 
the queen ^s apartments to the place of execu- 
tion and reached the procession precisely as 
it ascended the little eminence on which the 
cross was erected. The group with the 
prisoner and the two, so thoroughly opposite 


102 The Queen^s Nephew, 

brothers, now became visible to the eyes of 
the multitude; everybody looked with in- 
tense interest on the latter to see and hear 
what would happen. Prince Sebastian did 
not take any notice of his drunken brother's 
abuse, but hastened to the side of the page, 
embraced him in sight of the whole multi- 
tude of by-standers and exclaimed : ^ would 
far rather die with this noble youth than 
participate in your shame, wretched brother. 
What are you waiting for? Come forward, 
bind me also, crucify me with him. Pub- 
licly and solemnly I declare before you 
Bonzes, before the vassals and warriors of 
my father, and before all present, that I am 
guilty of the same deed as this boy. Like 
him, I adore Christ who, for the salvation 
of the world, died on the Cross, and I am 
ready likewise to die on the cross. Like 
him, I despise the false gods whose cheating 
inventors are here present.’’ 

A cry of rage from the Bonzes interrupted 
the words of Sebastian ; they tried to rush 
through the ranks of armed men and throw 
themselves upon the hated Christian prince, 
but were prevented. At the same time 
J oscimon snatched a pike out of the hand 


103 


The Qiteen^s Nephew. 

of a soldier and aimed, with unsteady hand 
a blow at the breast of his brother ; the latter 
sprang involuntarily aside and the weapon 
struck the executioner, who was standing 
holding the page, so heavily that he fell 
down with a loud scream. The people 
thought Joscimon had killed his brother 
and pressed forward with loud cries of woe. 
A scene of the greatest confusion ensued, 
the consequences of which none could fore- 
see; when, all at once, there arose a cry: 
^^The king! make way, stand back, the king 
is coming! 

Every one looked round, the noise ceased, 
the roaring multitude divided and stood in 
the customary respectful attitude, bowing 
down to the dust. The princes reached the 
hill on which the cross was, and when the 
scene just described took place. Immedi- 
ately behind Siwan, rode Sikatora and the 
chancellor Yosihao ; the rest of the courtiers 
followed. 

The missionary had met the royal party 
in a village, fully nine miles off, where they 
halted to take refreshment. Through Sika- 
tora, he obtained admittance to the king, 
threw himself at the feet of Siwan and 


104 


The QueerCs Nephew, 

reminded him of his promise to Francis 
Xavier, by virtue of which he had made it 
his duty to protect the Christians in his 
kingdom. Then he told him in touching 
words, how true the page had kept to his 
God and his creed, and of the cruelty of 
which he was now the victim. Siwan heard 
with indignation, and Sikatora with aston- 
ishment, the information which the mis- 
sionary brought. 

^^What occasion had the boy to excite 
the queen^s anger by his obstinacy said 
the king. ^^But all the Christians are like 
that ; political prudence is unknown amongst 
them. But, however, we will do what we 
can. Sikatora, let the horses be saddled 
immediately. Before sunset we will be in 
Usuki and save the boy out of Joscimon^s 
hands. You look very serious, said he to 
Sikatora, when the horses were brought for- 
ward. ^^You seem even to admire this 
page.’^ The prince answered: marvel 

at and admire above all things, the manly 
courage which this rehgion enables a boy, 
a child even, to manifest. I knew this 
page casually and looked upon him as a 
meek, gentle creature who would tremble at 


105 


The Qiieefi’s Nephew. 

a harsh word, and whom I should have 
thought incapable of standing out before 
such a severe punishment — death on the 
cross. Eest assured then, Sire, it is not 
obstinacy, but a sense of duty which impels 
the page Von Funai to act thus.’^ 

King Siwan made no reply ; they mounted 
their horses and, going off at a sharp gallop, 
soon reached Usuki. Sikatondono had 
remained behind, when he heard that it was 
only a question of the life of a slave, he was 
in no hurry to depart. As they rounded 
the castle hill, they perceived the crowd, 
and over the people^ s heads they saw the 
cross and the group which had formed round 
it. It was at the precise moment when 
Prince Sebastian stopped the procession and 
was abused by his brother. All eyes were 
fixed on the two princes. Thus it happened 
that the king and his suite were able to be 
unobserved spectators of the scene which 
we have just described. It was not until 
Joscimon made the thrust with the pike, 
and the people, thinking the drunkard was 
murdering his brother, pressed forward 
screaming, that the attendants of the king 


106 The Qmen^s Nephew, 

called out: ^^The king! make way, the king 
is coming 

When the king arrived at the foot of the 
hill, he dismounted and threw the reins to 
one of his soldiers. Joscimon was terribly 
frightened when he saw his father ^s features ; 
for, in spite of his intoxication, he remarked 
the anger which flamed forth from the king^s 
eyes. He was going forward to meet his 
father, but the latter signed to him to remain 
where he was. Then the king said in a loud 
voice that all the people could hear : 

‘H heard the words which you have just 
spoken, in which you threatened my Chris- 
tian subjects, ah, even your brother himself, 
with death on the cross, as soon as you are 
King of Bungo ; and, although those words 
were spoken in a state of intoxication, still, 
none the less they reveal to me your wicked 
thoughts. I thank the gods for having 
clearly made known to me by this occasion 
what I have, for a long time past, suspected : 
which is that you are utterly unworthy of 
the crown ! I therefore solemnly disinherit 
you ; for I will not leave my beloved subjects 
at the mercy of a drunkard and a cowardly 
tyrant. The remainder of the punishment 


107 


The Qiieen^s Nephew. 

which your behavior deserves, I will pro- 
nounce later on. Captain of the guard, 
Joscimon is your prisoner till further 
orders! 

The king then turned towards his second 
son and said : ^^The magnanimity you have 
just shown has filled my heart with joy and 
pride. You would be worthy to wear the 
crown and I believe would make my people 
happy. Only, on the day when you adopted 
the foreign religion, you solemnly renounced 
all prospect of reigning, and it would not 
be prudent to place a Christian at the head 
of a nation where the greatest part of the 
inhabitants sacrifice to the gods. But if you 
will return to our native gods, I will even 
now — 

^^Not a word more, father, said Prince 
Sebastian. ^^You yourself would cease to 
respect me if I, for the sake of an earthly 
crown, were to sacrifice my convictions.^’ 

^There remains then nothing for me, but 
to seek a worthy heir to the throne amongst 
my relations, ’ ’ said the king firmly. ‘ ^ And, 
I believe he is already found. The noble 
Sikatora, the nephew of my wife is from this 
time forth my adopted son and heir.” 


108 The Queeri^s Nephew. 

Tumultuous applause made known to 
Siwan how welcome his choice was both to 
the court and people. But Sikatora was 
quite embarrassed, he saw before him the 
prince who, for the sake of an eternal crown, 
had just nobly refused the earthly one which 
was now offered to him *, he saw the page 
who was ready to sacrifice his life cheerfully 
for the sake of an eternal life, and an interior 
voice said to him, The religion which gives 
the strength to make such sacrifices must be 
divine — folloiv it therefore. ^ The prince and 
the page suspecting the struggle which he 
was going through, both prayed for him; 
their prayers turned the scales of grace in 
his favor and he resolved to obey the voice 
from Heaven. ^Hnstead of the Shogun ^s 
hat, the crown of thorns,’^ said he to him- 
self, and going forward, he knelt down and 
kissed the hand of the king and would have 
explained publicly that he also was a Chris- 
tian. But Siwan did not allow him time to 
speak. 

^^Later on,^^ said he, have no time now 
to hear your thanks and your scruples. The 
page stands there bound. Loosen his bonds ! 
Whatever obstinacy he may have been 


109 


The Qiieeri^s Nephew. 

guilty of, he has sufficiently expiated. You 
are free and may still be reckoned amongsf 
my pages. 

Stephen was set free. He looked up at 
the cross, which was just reddened by the 
last rays of the setting sun, and said with 
tears in his eyes: must thank you, 0 

king, and yet you have scarcely done me a 
service. A few minutes more and my blood 
would have been shed for Christ, but my 
soul would have gone forth from the cross 
into eternal glory. 


X. 

Two Festivals. 

A month had passed since the events just 
'related. The page Stephen had begged to 
be dismissed from the king’s service, and 
had been at once taken by Fr. Cabral as 
one of his catechists. Later on, when he 
has quite recovered from the effects of his 
cruel flagellation, he will be received into 
the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. 
Joscimon was banished by his father to a 
distant country-seat where he was treated 
as a prisoner, but consoled himself by in- 
dulging in still greater libations of saki. 
Prince Sebastian had again quitted his 
father’s court, so Sikatora was the only 
prince in the royal palace of Usuki and was, 
as the acknowledged heir to the throne, 
overwhelmed with adulation from all sides. 
In vain had he, on the morning after that 
eventful day, informed the king of his firm 
resolution of becoming a Christian. Siwan 
only laughed and said : he could understand 
that sentiment after the scene of yesterday j 
( 110 ) 


The Queen^s Nephew, 111 

a youthful heart was so easily moved, and 
the outlandish fanaticism had something 
infectious about it. Sikatora was too 
agitated to fix on a decision of such far- 
reaching importance, and the opportunity 
of speaking did not occur to him again for 
twelve months. With such and similar 
words, the king put the prince ofi and took 
care that the enthusiast should find no time 
to indulge in his dreams. 

Widely different was the way in which 
Sikatondono took the explanation of his 
adopted son. An extremely violent scene 
ensued, he even threatened the prince with 
death or perpetual imprisonment if he dared 
to take such a step and by so doing sacrifice 
his whole future. At the same time, he 
sent a messenger to Fr. Cabral to inform 
him, if he ventured to instruct Sikatora, or 
receive him in the Christian faith, he might 
expect to feel his royal vengeance, which 
would fall, not only on him, but, on the 
whole Christian community. 

The mediation of King Siwan was required 
to moderate the princess outburst of fury. 
The king begged his guest to leave Sikatora 
to him. From the very decided character 


112 The Queeri^s Nephew. 

of the prince, he hoped to achieve more by 
distracting employments than by direct 
opposition. 

With this view, Siwan commissioned his 
chancellor, Yosihao, to lead Sikatora into 
occasions of taking part in the a:ffairs of 
state, and to make him conversant with the 
laws of his country. He was to take part 
in, and superintend the riding and shooting 
exercises of the warriors, and he was sent 
to Funai and the other principal towns so 
he might become acquainted with the 
Daimios, the officers of the crown, who 
represented the king in those places. And 
when he came back again to the Castle of 
Usuki, it was so contrived that either he 
went out hunting with the king, or the queen 
monopolized his time. In short, Siwan 
spared no pains to plunge the prince in a 
whirl of occupations and distractions, hoping 
to deter him by that means, rather than by 
threats, from the adoption of Christianity ; 
for judging by the disposition of Sikatora, 
he rightly concluded that open opposition 
would only render him the more obdurate. 

But the king’s clever policy nevertheless 
did not have the desired effect. Enlightened 


113 


The Queen^s Nejyhew. 

by grace, the prince had learnt under the 
cross destined for Stephen, the divinity of 
the Christian religion, and with the bravery 
which is inseparable from a noble heart, 
resolved at any price to become a Christian. 
He saw through Siwan^s artifices and deter- 
mined to waste no more words with the 
king, but to go calmly on in his own way. 

The queen continued to have her nephew 
watched, and indeed, all the more narrowly 
that she could no longer reckon on Sikaton- 
dono’s assistance, he having been called 
away to Buigen by urgent business. Sima 
was soon able to inform her that the prince 
had been to the foreign teacher’s again and 
remained there still longer than before. 

^^He must have gone to see the page whom 
you ill-treated so cruelly,” said her husband 
when she told him of this visit. 

^^No,” answered the queen, ^^he is being 
instructed in the Christian faith and I would 
rather see him dead than he also should out- 
rage our gods by his apostacy.” 

At these words, the king knitted his 
brows and said: If the prince renders him- 
self guilty of a false step, I reserve to myself 
his punishment. For every act of violence 


114 The Qiieen^s Nephew. 

which befalls him I shall hold you and your 
accomplices, whom I know, answerable. 
You will do well therefore to inform your 
two armed spies of what I have said.^^ 

The queen cast an evil glance on her 
husband, who withdrew after saying those 
words, and murmured: Look to yourself, 
Siwan ! If you take part in treason against 
our gods, you also may become a victim. 
The king called Yosihao, who was very 
much attached to Sikatora, and charged him 
to watch the prince closely and deter him 
from taking such a rash step. 

The conversation took place on the eve of 
the Mat suri-f east. Meanwhile Sikatora was 
sitting with Stephen in the garden belonging 
to the Mission house and telling him that, 
at last, Fr. Cabral had consented to baptize 
him on the following morning whilst the 
Bonze festival would distract the attention 
of the court and people from him. Stephen, 
who had gradually recovered, rejoiced 
greatly at this good news. ^^Come to the 
chapel, said he. ^^We will go together 
and thank Our Blessed Lady who has 
obtained this grace for you. The blind 
Tobias, Prince Sebastian, little Francis, the 


115 


The Queen’’ s Nephew, 

" Fathers and myself have all prayed to her 
most fervently for you. What joy awaits 
you! You are now, notwithstanding your 
many noble gifts of nature, spiritually dead, 
but soon you will receive the supernatural 
life and be born again a child of God in the 
waters of baptism.’’ 

Sikatora stayed the night in the Mission 
house and prepared himself by prayer and 
meditation for the reception of the sacra- 
ment of baptism. The next morning Sima 
informed the queen that the prince had not 
returned all night from the foreign teachers’ 
house, also that towards morning Prince 
Sebastian had gone there also. The chan- 
cellor had the same information to impart 
to the king. ^‘We will talk about it after 
the festival,” said the king impatiently. 
But the queen found time to send word to 
the two spies not to lose sight of the Mission 
house ; she also sent off a few lines quickly 
to the chief of the Bonzes. 

Meanwhile the fifes and deafening tam- 
tams proclaimed that the festival procession 
of Matsuri was setting out from the Bonze 
cloister. The Matsuri is half a feast of the 
gods and half the people’s feast; the most 


116 The Queen’’ s Nephew. 

prominent part consists in a gigantic pro- 
cession. The Bonzes preceded these pro- 
cessions riding in richly decorated chariots 
whereon were painted scenes from their 
heathen mythology and the fabulous history 
of J apan . Amongst all the different exhibi- 
tions, that of the Dsin-mu, the first pro- 
genitor of Japan which takes place every 
year, is by far the most renowned for its 
splendor. The streets were thronged with 
an eager crowd of spectators, so that the 
procession could only pass slowly along. 
First of all, came the indispensable Tenga, 
the messenger of the gods, arrayed in rich, 
gay-colored silken garments, wearing as 
herald of the heavenly powers, a pair of 
great wings glistening in all the colors of 
the rainbow. A scarlet mask with a huge 
nose completed this grotesque figure. With 
cunning winks and all sorts of comical 
gestures, he excited the hilarity of the spec- 
tators ; but his intention in doing so was to 
drive away the evil spirits. Behind him 
followed musicians, banner-bearers and men 
carrying lamps representing every possible 
dragon and monstrosity next came a line of 
chariots, on which were painted, Japanese 


117 


The Qiieen^s Nepheiv, 

heroes, Bonzes, hermits, and gods and god- 
desses. A procession of buffalos led by a 
troop of peasants brought wagons with 
agricultural implements and field fruits. 
Inari sat enthroned amongst his foxes. 
Grigantic caricatures were borne on the 
shoulders of from ten to twenty mask- 
wearers. A white elephant as high as a 
house, made of pasteboard, staggered along 
in the procession ; in each of its enormous 
feet were hidden three men who carried the 
edifice along. Lastly, came the chariot of 
the divine Dsin-mu, the progenitor of the 
Mikado. Clad in shining armor and with 
guttering sword, he sat in the midst of his 
armed heroes whose helmet-masks were 
adorned with enormous mustachions made 
of horse hair. — Amongst all these chariots 
and groups, surged a mass of dancers, 
jugglers and Bonzes, springing, shrieking 
and skipping, and the whole people took a 
hvely interest in these wild extravagances 
which had nothing whatever in common 
with the solemnity and dignity of a Catholic 
procession. 

In the square before the great flight of 
steps which led up to the king’s palace, the 


118 The Queen^s Nephew. 

procession halted, and the Dsin-mu^s chariot 
took its place in the centre whilst the rest 
of the chariots were grouped round it in a 
half circle. The king, the queen and the 
members of the royal household seated on a 
raised platform, looked down at the dancing 
of the Bonzes, the clever tricks of the 
jugglers and the wrestling of the athletes. 
Lastly, he who represented the Dsin-mu 
clanked his weapons as a sign that he 
wished to make a speech to the king and 
people. After the Bonze had as usual related 
his history and spoken of the greatness 
of Japan, he raised his voice and began in 
the tone of a prophet to speak of the great 
evil, which stood before his people because 
his successor, the Mikado, was disgracefully 
betrayed, and Japan opened more and more 
to the foreigners, those deadly enemies of 
the gods. ^^Even now, at this moment,’’ 
cried he, in a voice of thunder and waving 
his sword threateningly in the direction of 
the Missioner’s house, ^^a son of my race on 
whom the gods had set great hopes, is about 
to commit a shameful treason. Woe to him ! 
Woe to those who uphold him! ” 

Siwan cast an angry glance at his wife 


119 


The Queen* s Nephew, 

and colored. Still he had sufficient control 
over himself to answer the Bonze’s speech, 
which was intended to stir the people up to 
some violent act, by a joke and invite his 
^^Dear ancestor,” who appeared to be in 
rather a bad temper to-day, to partake of a 
lunch and some good wine. Then he with- 
drew quickly and gave the captain of the 
guard some orders in a low tone, on which 
the latter went off with a troop of armed 
men to the Missioner’s house. 

Whilst the Matsuri procession was going 
noisily through the streets and the Dsin-mu 
was making his threatening speech, quite a 
different scene was taking place in the chapel 
of the Mission house — it was the baptism of 
Sikatora. The little chapel w^as very prettily 
ornamented with flowers and green foliage ; 
candles burnt before the statue of the 
Blessed Virgin and on the high altar; joy 
and consolation shone on every countenance. 
The prince came forth clad in white baptis- 
mal garments accompanied by his sponsors, 
Prince Sebastian and the page Stephen and, 
surrounded by the priests, went to the 
chapel. He prayed for faith ; he renounced 
Satan, his pomps and all his works; he 


120 The Queen^s Nephew. 

received the sign of the cross ; he was anoint- 
ed with the holy oil of the catechumens, 
and, after he had solemnly made his act of 
faith, he was led to the font. Tears of emo- 
tion stood in the eyes of all when the waters 
of baptism were poured over the head of the 
prince and he rose up, born again of water 
and of the Holy Grhost, a child of God, an 
heir to the kingdom of Heaven. Fr. Cabral 
then went to the altar to offer up the Holy 
Sacrifice in thanksgiving. 

Just as he was finishing the holy Mass, 
the sound of the clanking of arms reached 
his ears. Violent blows struck on the door 
imperiously demanded admittance. A few 
minutes later the captain stood in the 
chapel, the outer door of which was in the 
possession of armed men. 

^Trince,^^ said he, ^fit is reported that 
you are on the point of renouncing the 
religion of our gods. The king therefore 
commands you to come at once to the palace 
and solemnly deny the report, because, 
otherwise an insurrection is imminent. 

am a Christian, thank God,’’ replied 
the newly-baptized prince calmly and firmly. 

^‘So much the worse,” said the captain; 


The Queen'^s Nephew, 121 

^ ^for I am obliged then to arrest you in the 
king^s name/^ 

The prince cast a loving look on the cross 
and on the statue of the Blessed Virgin and 
said, ^ ^Do your duty ! — But you my brothers, 
pray for me!^’ 


XI. 

Trials. 

It was not till night had come on and the 
streets had become somewhat clear of the 
bustle of the festival, that the captain led 
his prisoner back to the palace. The news 
that the prince had become a Christian soon 
spread, and the mob, incited by the Bonzes, 
would have stormed the Mission house and 
taken vengeance on the missionaries if they 
had not been hindered in their designs by 
the armed men whose number the king in- 
creased in the course of the day. Even 
then a division of pike-bearers had to watch 
the house, and the prince, on his way to the 
palace, had to hear many abusive and 
threatening speeches. 

On arriving at the palace the prince was 
forthwith led to the king. ^^Set him free,^’ 
said the latter, ^^and leave him alone with 
me!’’ Then he turned towards Sikatora, 
and said: ^‘You have caused me much 
trouble to-day. Your thoughtless act very 
nearly led to an insurrection and now it is 
( 122 ) 


123 


The QueeiTs Nephew. 

impossible to tell what may be the conse- 
quences of it. You know how powerful the 
party for the Bonzes is, and how easily the 
people are excited by this Matsuri and the 
games and the quantity of Saki they drink, 
to deeds of bloodshed and open insurrec- 
tion ! And I cannot even rely on my cour- 
tiers and soldiers. Since I allowed my 
second son to become a Christian — it was a 
great mistake on my part — the queen has 
secretly become one of a party powerful 
enough to make me tremble for my throne 
and even for my life as soon as I do any- 
thing in favor of the Christian religion. 
And now you come, you whom I have loved 
as a son, whom I have publicly announced 
to be the heir to the throne, and adopt the 
Christian religion without having said a 
word to me about it.^^ 

did tell you,^^ rephed the prince calmly, 
^^but you would not listen to me.^^ 

^ ^Nonsense ! Of course I would not listen, 
and that must be answer enough for you. 
Besides I had no idea you seriously thought 
of carrying out this resolution — at least 
not yet.^^ 


124 


The Queen^s Nephew, 

am sorry to have caused you trouble, 
but I must obey the voice of conscience/^ 

‘^You must obey the voice of common 
sense, and this must tell you that such a 
step must, with one blow cut off all prospect 
of a brilliant future, of crown and kingdom, 
of victory and renown ! You ought to obey 
the voice of gratitude and this must tell you 
that that step grieves your benefactors; ah, 
even injures them seriously! You ought 
to have listened to the voice of prudence 
and that would have told you that your 
audacity would plunge not only you, but 
the foreign teachers and all the Christians 
into the greatest danger. Had I not sent 
the guard, the insurgents would have pulled 
both house and chapel down over your 
heads ; it was only by having you brought 
here fettered that I could save your life. If 
it really grieves you, as you say, show that 
it does by your actions. Gro with me to- 
morrow to the Pagoda and offer Dsin-mu, 
the venerable founder of our kingdom, the 
usual sacrifice. 

Solemnly renounce the devil and all his 
works to-day, and go before the idols and 


125 


The Queen'^s Nephew. 

offer sacrifice to-morrow — a thousand times 
rather die! cried the prince indignantly. 

^^Dsin-mu is not a devil; he is a hero, 
whom even a Japanese Christian may honor 
as the founder of the royal house. But if 
you think you cannot offer sacrifice, you can 
at least he present at the sacrifice . I demand 
this much most imperatively ; it is a ques- 
tion of crown and kingdom. 

^^What doth it profit a man to gain the 
whole world and suffer the loss of his own 
souir’ 

^^Blind fanatic 1 — It is not a question only 
of your own, hut prohahly of my — your 
henefactor^s fate! 

‘^1 cannot, I dare not! I have sworn to 
he true to Christ and will keep my faith to 
him to my last hreath.^^ 

<< Ungrateful, obstinate fellow! — not a 
word more! If you despise my goodness, 
you shall experience my severity!’^ The 
king then called the captain and gave him 
orders to lead the prince away into close 
confinement. 

The prison to which Prince Simon — 
Sikatora having taken this name in holy 
baptism — we will henceforth call him thus — 


126 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

was taken j was, it is true, not that narrow, 
dark dungeon in which the page Stephen 
had lain ; hut still it looked wretched enough. 
There were none of those costly carpets and 
gaily embroidered silk tapestries to which 
his eyes were accustomed — instead of every 
luxury, there were bare walls and hard 
boards. In place of the delicacies from the 
royal kitchen, a dish of rice and a jug of water 
were placed before him. But his heart was 
full of consolation ; he was now a Christian 
and he had victoriously passed through his 
first trial. He thanked Grod fervently for 
the grace, of baptism, renewed his baptismal 
vows over and over again; prayed for 
strength and courage, and did not forget 
Siwan and his enemies in his prayers. He 
extinguished the little lamp, laid himself 
down on the hard deal boards and soon fell 
into a peaceful sleep. But the trials of his 
baptismal day were not yet ended. 

He had not been asleep an hour when the 
prison door was opened violently and the 
queen came in accompanied by Sima, who 
put the lamp down and retired. The queen 
looked on the sleeper for a moment, then 
slightly touching him with the point of her 


The Queen’s Nephew. 127 

foot, said: ^^Sikatora, nephew, wake up and 
listen to the words of your aunt ! ’ ’ 

The prince rousing himself with difficulty 
from his heavy sleep, looked up and saw the 
queen standing beside him. She over- 
whelmed him at first with soft speeches and 
promises ; she pictured to him over again in 
glowing colors the brilliant future which 
she had planned for him and, on the other 
side, the sad fate that awaited him if he 
Would not make good the false step into 
which the magic of the foreign teachers had 
ensnared him. Her eloquence made no im- 
pression on the prince, for against all her 
pictures of earthly glory, he held the one 
text: ^^What doth it profit a man to gain 
the whole world and suffer the loss of his 
own soul! The queen seeing that all her 
flatteries, promises and persuasions were of 
no avail, changed the kindness which she 
had at first shown into gall and bitterness. 
Threats, abuse and curses streamed from 
her lips, and at last pale with rage, she 
called down the vengeance of all the gods 
upon her nephew. ^‘Die then in this 
prison! said she, as she went out, ^^you 


128 The Qtieen^s Nephew. 

have chosen it and you shall never leave it 
again alive! 

After a few days Simon had a similar 
scene to go through with Sikatondono, who, 
on hearing of the baptism of the prince, 
came to Usuki foaming with rage. Simon 
really feared at first that the madman was 
going to strangle him and offered the 
sacrifice of his life to Grod. But he did not 
allow himself to be frightened into apostasy. 

Disown me! Make me a beggar ! Kill me — 
but I shall remain a faithful Christian.^’ — 
Sikatondono was obliged to retire baffled. 

Weeks now passed without any one 
appearing to trouble themselves about the 
prince. The gaoler took him in rice and 
water every day. Through the narrow iron- 
barred window, only a faint glimmer of 
light entered the bare and comfortless room. 
A broad-leaved Kiri tree, only a few paces 
from the window, shut out every view. The 
prince could just manage to see a little 
piece of blue sky. His only distractions 
were a few birds, which from time to time 
hopped about in the branches of the tree 
and then fluttered away again, thus remind- 
ing him of the sweets of freedom which he 


129 


The Queeri^s Nephew. 

was now deprived of. Then came the long, 
dark nights and the, to him unaccustomed, 
feeling of loneliness. He hoped every day 
that Prince Sebastian would visit him or 
that Stephen, or some other Christian would 
find means somehow to send him a word of 
consolation from Fr. Cabral. But Siwan 
and Sikatondono had chosen their gaolers 
well ; no one could get to the prisoner whom 
the strictest isolation was to render more 
amenable to the king^s wishes. 

At length, one day the chancellor appeared 
at the prison — the chancellor Yosihao 
whom the prince had always liked and 
esteemed, and who was also doubtless sin- 
cerely devoted to the noble youth. He had 
been trying for a long time to find some 
means by which, it might still be possible 
to bring back his beloved prince to the 
throne and, at last, he thought he had suc- 
ceeded in finding it. He represented to the 
prince the sad fate to which his adoption of 
the Christian religion had reduced the 
Christians and, in particular, the mis- 
sionaries before whom stood the immediate 
prospect of an outbreak of persecution. He 
had therefore been to see Fr. Cabral and 


130 The Queen’s Nephew, 

consulted with him as to how such a mis- 
fortune could be avoided. He asked the 
missionary whether it would not, in order 
to avert so great an evil, be allowable for the 
prince to deny his faith; but Fr. Cabral 
would not hear of that. However, in the 
end, he consented to the following arrange- 
ment: the prince was to remain true to the 
faith in his own heart and to declare on oath 
his resolution of openly acknowledging his 
faith as soon as he was his own master ; but 
in the meantime he might, in order to pre- 
vent the ruin of the Christians in Bungo, 
keep his faith secret, and outwardly con- 
form to the will of his father and of the 
king. 

The prince was greatly surprised at the 
construction put upon what appeared to 
him to be so clear a duty; but it never 
occurred to him to doubt the word of the 
chancellor whom he had always looked upon 
as an upright man, and the less so since he 
brought him, as a proof that he came from 
Fr. Cabral, a rosary and also a well written 
explanation from the missionary which he 
could show to his father and to the king. 
It is not to be wondered at therefore that 


131 


The Queen’s Nephew. 

the prince allowed himself to be deceived, 
and after some hesitation declared himself 
ready to address a letter to his father and 
the king in 'which he, in general terms, 
begged forgiveness and promised to obey 
them in all things in future. 

The chancellor at once took this explana- 
tion to Sikatondono and the king and there 
was great rejoicing over it. Scarcely half 
an hour afterwards, the king and the prince 
came personally and fetched Simon out of 
prison. All the court assembled at a festival 
of rejoicing — a banquet in honor of the 
prince was given, singers and play-actors 
feted the victory of the gods, and the king^s 
palace was full of life and pleasure. But the 
prince could not find any real pleasure in the 
banquet. The rice in his prison had tasted 
better to him than all the delicacies of the 
royal table, and he could not find that sleep 
on the soft bed, which he had enjoyed on 
the hard boards of his prison. An interior 
voice told him he had done wrong. He 
read it in the eyes of the Christians whom 
he met, and he felt he must know the truth. 
The chancellor had, of course, foreseen 
that his deception must soon be found out ; 


132 The Qtieen^s Nephew. 

but he thought the prince would be only 
too glad to have found some means of turn- 
ing back and, at any rate, would not choose 
the sohtary prison a second time. He was 
mistaken ! 

As soon as Simon began to have doubts 
he wrote a letter to Fr. Cabral asking him 
whether he had really commissioned the 
chancellor and if not, how he was to act in 
future; at the same time, expressing his 
willingness to do everything he might com- 
mand him to do. Some time passed before 
an opportunity occurred to send this letter 
to the missionary and receive an answer. 
At last the answer came wherein Fr. Cabral 
told him he had been deceived, and that it 
was his duty to ask for his written declara- 
tion back, and make a public acknowledg- 
ment of his faith let the consequences be 
what they might. When he had read this 
letter, he knelt down and prayed fervently 
for strength and courage. Then he rose 
and went with a firm step to the great hall 
in which King Siwan, his father, the chan- 
cellor and a great number of retainers were 
assembled to hold a council in which he also 
was invited to take part. The king sat on 


133 


The Queen's Nephew. 

a raised seat in the centre ; on his right was 
Sikatondono, on his left a place was reserved 
for Simon. Then followed on both sides in 
a half-circle according to their rank, Daimios 
all dressed in silken garments. The prince 
entered the half circle and bowed to the king, 
but instead of going to his place, he said: 

Before I venture to take part in this 
august crown- council, I owe to you, 0 
king, to you, my father, to the assembled 
council and to myself a solemn explanation. 
The document which released me from 
prison was the result of a deception. I now 
revoke it. I am a Christian and will live 
according to my faith, and if necessary die 
for it Like a thunder bolt falling from a 
clear sky was the effect of this speech on 
the assembly. All rose from their seats, 
Sikatondono in his sudden rage, drew his 
sword and would have precipitated himself 
upon the prince, who signing himself with 
the holy cross awaited his death-blow, had 
not King Siwan caught him by the arm and 
assisted by other gentlemen of the court 
prevented this murderous act. Then fol- 
lowed a stream of threats and curses but the 
prince remained firm. At a sign from the 


134 The Qiieen^s Nephew. 

king he was at length taken back to prison. 
Sikatondono was beside himself with rage. 
He sent some two-sword men to Fr. Cabral 
to threaten him and all the missionaries 
with death if they did not immediately 
order the prince to return to the gods of 
Japan. They were guilty of the loss of his 
son, on whom he had built such great hopes. 
The missionary did not allow himself to be 
frightened. He said to the messengers: 

^ Hnform the prince that we are only sorry 
we have but one life to sacrifice in so noble 
a cause. 

Sikatondono sent the prince that very 
same day to Tangawa, the capital of his 
kingdom of Buigen, so as to keep him a 
prisoner there away from all intercourse 
with Christians, till he could succeed in con- 
quering his obstinacy and, in the end induce 
him to apostatize from Christianity. 


XII. 

The Victory, 

Two years had passed since Prince Simon 
was taken to Tangawa — a long time to a 
prisoner, especially to a young man who 
doubly feels the ardent desire for liberty. 
By his father ^s orders he was for some 
months in a real prison, but when he was 
told that the princess health was visibly 
suffering, he amehorated in some measure 
his close confinement. He was permitted, 
on giving his word of honor not to escape, 
to roam about somewhat more freely in a 
fenced-in park. In addition to this he was 
given to understand from his father that 
only a word from him was needed to say 
that he would conform himself to his father ^s 
wishes, and he would at once be re-called to 
the court of IJsuki and re-instated in all his 
honors and expectations. But the prince 
did not speak that word, however unbear- 
able his fate sometimes was. 

Only once during the whole of this long 
time did he receive a comforting message 

(135) 


136 The Queen^s Nephew, •; 

from Fr. Cabral and that Avas through the 
blind Tobias. The old man, led by little 
Francis, had wandered through a series of 
towns in the kingdom of Buigen, till at last 
he found traces of the prince. Simon 
succeeded in giving the boy, whom he 
recognized amongst -a troop of beggars at 
the palace gate, a note which appointed a 
meeting in an out-of-the-way spot in the 
park. At the appointed hour, the meeting 
took place. Tobias delivered a letter to the 
prince from Fr. Cabral in which he encour- 
aged him to stand steadfast. Then Tobias 
told him about the edifying example of 
Christian steadfastness given by Paul, King 
of Tosa. After he had, with the help of 
Siwan’stroops, re-conquered his whole king- 
dom, the Bonzes insisted on his renouncing 
the Christian faith, otherwise they would 
incite the mob to renew the insurrection 
which had just been subdued with so much 
difficulty. The king utterly refused this 
demand and, in addition, seized a few of the 
chief Bonzes and ringleaders and made them 
safe prisoners. Then the well prepared in- 
surrection broke out and, as the troops from 
Bungo forsook the king, he lost all as far 


137 


The Qiieen^s Nephew, 

as the little town of Nungusima in the hills, 
which remained faithful to him, and where 
he was beleaguered by the revolutionists. 

Happy man! said Simon, ^^Oh that I 
were beside him ! He can fight for his king- 
dom and his faith, whilst I am doomed to 
waste my days idly as a prisoner. 

^^As Grod wills, my young friend. Each 
one has his own cross which the Lord has 
laid upon him, and blessed is he on whom 
He imposes the heaviest. For, in proportion 
to our participation in the cross will our 
portion of eternal glory be measured to us.” 

They continued talking for some time 
longer and the aged Tobias succeeded in 
wonderfully strengthening and comforting 
the young man. Simon had not yet made 
his first communion, so they spoke of the 
possibility of one of the missionaries dis- 
pensing that sacrament of love to him in 
this same place in the park. But, as they 
were discussing the details more fully, little 
Francis gave the sign that they were being 
watched and so they were obliged to separate. 
The meeting had, in fact, been observed, 
and the consequence was, that the prince 
from that time forth was only allowed to 


138 The Queen^s Nephew, 

walk ill the park accompanied by guards. 
So he had to forego the consolation of a 
second conversation with Tobias and also 
the far greater one of which they had 
spoken ; and now day after day passed with 
the prisoner in unbearable monotony. 

In the meantime, an event happened at 
the court of Usuki which caused a sudden 
change. King Siwan, who through trouble 
had become prematurely old, thought 
seriously, during the long sleepless nights 
which the gout caused him, of death and 
the terrors of eternity — on which he had 
once heard St. Francis Xavier preach — and 
became more and more inclined to adopt 
Christianity. He had clearly seen for more 
that 30 years that its doctrine was much 
more conformable to reason than that of 
the Japanese Bonzes. But from this view 
to the acceptance of the Christian faith 
there is an infinitely wide gulf, which grace 
alone can bridge over. Unfortunately Siwan, 
who led by earthly prudence had so long 
resisted Giod^s grace, was not very qualified 
to draw down greater and richer graces. 
That they were nevertheless vouchsafed to 
him, he owed to the free grace of Grod, 


139 


The Queen’s Nephew. 

and also probably to the intercession of St. 
Francis Xavier and the noble example of so 
many recent converts, viz, the King of Tosa, 
the page Stephen and, in particular, our 
Simon. He enquired repeatedly of Sika- 
tondono about the behavior of his adopted 
son, and when he learnt that he would 
rather spend his whole life in prison than 
deny Christ, he interceded for the recall of 
the prince, and made known to Fr. Cabral 
that he himself wished to be prepared to 
receive [holy baptism. 

Like wild fire the news spread at court 
and throughout the country, everywhere 
causing joy amongst the Christians and 
amazement and fury among the heathens. 
Only a few days later, a second and a third 
report was circulated through the kingdom ; 
the first was, that the Prince of Satsuma 
had attacked the province of Finnga with a 
large army — the second that. King Siwan 
had imprisoned his wife for high treason. 
Both reports were true, only the imprison- 
ment of the queen was not entirely on 
account of her invitation to the Prince of 
Satsuma to make war upon her husband 
who was false to the gods, but was equally 


140 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

on account of the sad state of her mind. 
She had in fact fallen into a real madness, 
indeed the annals of the missionaries do not 
hesitate to say that she was possessed. 

Things were thus altered in Usuki when 
Sikatondono, in accordance with the king^s 
wishes, released his foster-son from prison 
and sent him back to Siwan^s court. It 
can easily be imagined with what joy the 
prince received the news of his freedom, 
which pleased him all the more since it was 
conveyed to him by no other than Prince 
Sebastian who informed him at the same 
time that his father, King Si wan, was pre- 
paring himself for holy baptism. They 
united together in praising the mercy of 
God. Then they hastened, at the head of 
a troop of soldiers belonging to the kingdom 
of Buigen, which Simon had, by his father^s 
order assembled, in a hurried march to 
Usuki. King Siwan and his court rode out 
to meet the two princes and welcomed them. 

thank God,’’ said Simon to the king, 
^^that the opportunity now offers for me to 
prove my gratitude and loyalty. Now you 
shall see that amongst all your subjects the 


The Queen’’ s Nephew, 141 

Christians are the firmest supporters of the 
throne.’^ 

An army of 40,000 men had drawn around 
Usuki and was to go out against the enemy 
on the morrow. Sikatondono was appoint- 
ed general-in-chief; Simon was to have 
command of a division of cavalry. The 
streets of Usuki, the places about the palace 
and the park, resounded with the noise of 
weapons. In spite of the excitement and 
ceaseless activity which is inevitable during 
the last preparations for war, the prince 
found time to prepare himself to receive his 
first communion, for which he had so long 
been hoping. A part of the night which he 
regularly spent in the chapel of the mission- 
aries, was set apart for this preparation and 
the day before the setting out of the army, 
he received with deep emotion, the nourish- 
ment of the Bread of Angels. At the same 
time. Prince Sebastian, the former page 
Stephen, the blind Tobias and his guide, 
approached the table of the Lord. He 
prayed fervently for a long time after receiv- 
ing and knelt also before the statue of the 
Blessed Virgin, and prayed that from her 
pure hands, Grod might deign to accept the 


142 


The Qiieen^s Nephew, 

sacrifice of his life for the extension of His 
Church in J apan. 

The next morning, the noise of the beat- 
ing of tamtams and the shrill notes of the 
fifes prevailed in the streets. With a great 
clanging of arms, the army passed the gate 
of the city. King Siwan witnessed the 
march past of his troops from his couch, 
for a fresh attack of gout prevented him 
going into the field of battle with them. 
When Simon appeared at the head of his 
troop of horse-soldiers, he made a sign to 
him to come forward, held out his hand to 
him and said : ^ ^Good-bye, my son ! Forgive 
me, for all the severity I have permitted 
against you ; it was done out of love, but, 
certainly, I must admit, blind love for you. 
I wished so much to make you a great 
earthly king and hero. Now I understand 
better and know that I owe much to your 
example and sacrifices. When you return 
I shall be a Christian.’’ 

^^God be praised for His grace!” replied 
the prince. do not think I shall return ; 
an interior voice tells me that I am nearing 
my end. My last and only request is: 


The Queen'^s Nephew, 143 

^Hesitate no longer but receive holy baptism 
and be a protector to the Christians! ’ 

King Siwan promised to do so, and shook 
hands with the prince with deep emotion. 
The young man then galloped off to the 
head of his troop. Once again Siwan 
looked on the helmet with the sun shining 
on its golden cross, then the glittering 
spears and the clouds of dust whirled up by 
the horses^ hoofs, shut out the picture of 
the youthful hero from his view. 

Sikatondono’s army marched into the 
province of Finnga which borders Bungo 
on the south, and drove out the troops of 
the enemy, the Prince of Satsuma. A suc- 
cession of fortified places were taken almost 
without a blow being struck; in several 
skirmishes Simon gave proofs of his rare 
bravery and great military capacity, so that 
his foster-father, in spite of the grudge 
which he still bore against the (traitor to 
the gods) was obliged to acknowledge his 
noble qualities, and a sort of reconciliation 
seemed likely to take place between them. 
Already a near and fortunate issue to the 
campaign appeared to be assured when an 
oversight on the part of the field-marshal 


144 The Queeri^s Nephew, 

destroyed all their hard-earned advantages 
and changed the note of victory at the court 
of Usuki into one of mourning. 

Sikatondono besieged a fortified place on 
the frontiers of Satsuma, the last which still 
checked the advancing of his army into the 
midst of the enemy’s country. He ought 
to have remembered that the enemy would 
risk everything to prevent the fall of this 
fortress; but his victories had made him 
bhnd and presumptuous. He divided his 
army and sent on half of it, under the com- 
mand of an incapable general, to meet the 
enemy who was advancing towards the 
relief of the fortress, whilst he himseK, 
neglecting the most necessary foresight, 
went on to besiege the fortress. Simon 
considered it his duty to draw the attention 
of his foster-father to the danger which was 
imminent. But his warning only excited 
Sikatondono ’s anger. He would know 
much more about the art of war than a 
mere boy, besides he had, through the 
Bonzes, the sure prophecy of Ha-tsi-man, 
(god of war,) that he should be victorious 
as soon as the Christian traitors had left 
his army. He desired him therefore, with 


145 


The Queen’s Nephew, 

the other followers of the cross, to keep 
aw^y from him and his camp till after the 
fall of the fortress. 

In truth the prince was obliged to leave 
the camp, that same day with all the Chris- 
tians — over 1000 men. Night came on, 
the field-marshal with his officers sat down 
to a banquet in which they feted the fall of 
the fortress beforehand. But when towards 
daybreak, in a state of semi-intoxication, 
they were about to return to their tents, 
hasty messengers from Simon announced 
that the enemy was drawing near with over- 
powering numbers in battle array. The 
Prince of Satsuma had succeeded in sur- 
rounding the army which was sent to meet 
him, and, if Simon with his Christian 
soldiers had not kept watch close to the 
camp, he would have succeeded in falhng 
upon them entirely unobserved. Simon 
now held out with his troops against the 
enemy at least till Sikatondono could order 
and place his men ; then he was obliged to 
withdraw from the overwhelming numbers 
and take refuge on a neighboring hill. 

With a loud war-cry, Satsuma’s army 
now threw themselves upon the ranks of 


146 The Qmen^s Nephew, 

Biiiigo ; arrows flew, spears glistened, weap- 
ons crashed under the heavy blows. Sika- 
tondono tried to repair by personal bravery 
the fault he had committed as leader, and 
boldly pressed forward at the head of a 
picked troop into the enemy ^s ranks. It is 
true, they were repulsed for a moment ; but 
they soon regained courage and succeeded 
in cutting off the field-marshal and his 
troop from the rest of his army and surround- 
ing them ; he defended himself like a lion, 
but in vain — the enemy encircled him closer 
and closer, he was already bleeding from 
several wounds and certain death awaited 
him — then came help from a quarter whence 
he least expected it. Simon had followed 
the whole of the battle, from the height to 
v^hich he had retreated. He saw that the 
overthrow of the army of Bungo was inevi- 
table unless he could succeed in bringing 
forward the other half of the army in time, 
whose position at the rear of the enemy he 
was aware of. He sent therefore a few of 
his best cavalry to seek these troops and 
resolved if possible to rush into the battle 
jointly with them. But when he saw the 
extreme danger in which Sikatondono 


147 


The Queen^s Nephew. 

stood, his noble heart overcame all other 
considerations. ^‘Who will volunteer to 
follow me to save Sikatondono!^’ cried he. 

^^0 prince, you have not so much to thank 
him for that you should sacrifice your life for 
him,^^ said one of his Christian companions 
in arms. 

^^Did Our Savior think that when He 
went to die on the cross for usT^ replied the 
prince. ^ ^Forward, all who will follow me! 
Jesus and Mary ! Saying these words he 
made the sign of the cross, put spurs to his 
horse and rushed into the thick of the battle. 
His whole troop followed him. ^Mesus and 
Mary ! resounded through the din of arms. 
The rush of the little troop was so powerful 
that it divided the ranks of the enemy like 
a wedge of which Simon formed the point. 
Hearer and nearer, the prince beat his 
blood-stained way to his father. Already 
the latter saw the golden cross on his helmet 
and comprehended the heroic deed of his 
foster son, who repaid him for so much 
evil with such devoted love; already the 
enemy’s ranks were scattered, when, nearly 
at the same moment, both father and son 
sank down on the blood-besprinkled earth. 


148 The Queen’s Nephew. 

The Christian warriors drew Sikatondono, 
who was bleeding from numerous wounds, 
from under his dead horse and he lived and 
recovered. But Simon was dead; an 
enemy’s spear had pierced his true and con- 
secrated heart, and his soul went forth to 
God, Who in place of an earthly crown 
bestowed on him the far more precious 
crown of eternal glory. 

Sikatondono was deeply moved by the 
noble bravery of his adopted son, neverthe- 
less, he persisted in heathenism. But he 
never called the Christians traitors to their 
country again. Simon’s foresight had 
enabled him to save, at least, a remnant of 
his army. King Siwan became a Christian 
and took in baptism the name of Francis in 
honor of the Apostle of Japan. He had the 
body of Simon brought to Usuki and buried 
with all due honors in the chapel in which 
the prince was baptized and received his 
first Holy Communion. The unhappy 
queen died in the same prison in which 
Simon had been confined, without having 
recovered from her sad state of madness. 
For the next 40 years, the Church in Bungo 
rejoiced in happier times, till, at length, the 


149 


The Queen’’ s Nephew. 


malice of hell let loose that storm of perse- 
cution to which she, in accordance with 
God^s unsearchable decrees, fell a victim 
after having sent to Heaven so many saints 
and martyrs, and left us a host of interces- 
sors amongst whom the youth, whose history 
we have narrated, holds a place of honor. 











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